Starlink dispute: Ukraine counters Musk on drone speed limits

Elon Musk accused the Ukrainian military of using a civilian satellite network for offensive drone strikes on Saturday. The claim follows a restriction imposed by SpaceX that limits the speed of drones connected to the service.

Musk stated that using Starlink for lethal attacks had never been permitted under the commercial terms of service. He distinguished the system from Starshield, a military variant controlled by the US government, asserting that Ukraine exploited a loophole in the civilian agreement before it was closed last week.

Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rejected the accusation in a Telegram post on Sunday. He described the claim as physically impossible because all Starlink terminals over Ukrainian territory, including areas occupied by Russia, already had movement speed limits set between 70 and 90 kilometers per hour.

Beskrestnov noted that the satellite technology does not function over Russian territory. One former Ukrainian official also denied the breach, arguing that previous limits imposed by SpaceX had already prevented the military from using the service in the manner Musk described.

Ukrainian officials have separately accused Musk of throttling access to Starshield, the military variant Ukraine utilizes through a US government deal. Zelenskyy announced over the weekend that the new satellite restrictions have been lifted, a move that may conclude a controversy that began nearly two weeks ago.