Starlink service for Ukraine’s armed forces was restricted over fears that Russia would shoot down the company’s satellites, a post on X by SpaceX chief Elon Musk suggests. Musk was responding to a post about Russia’s ability to blow up satellites in space.
“This is indeed one of the main reasons that Starlink must remain a civilian operation,” Musk tweeted. “It can be used for infrastructure that is military, but it cannot be used for unequivocally offensive strikes that make it fair game to be struck back. An adversary blowing up Starlink satellites would create a domino effect of destruction that would generate a vast field of debris making space unusable.”
In mid-October, Ukraine’s armed forces encountered restrictions on their Starlink satellite terminals, specifically the military version, Starshield. Connections cut out when drones flew faster than 160 kilometers per hour (about 100 mph).
Western media reported that Musk himself had initiated the restrictions on Starlink service for the Ukrainian military. He later accused Ukraine of using Starlink for “offensive” drone strikes. Ukraine’s armed forces responded that this was “technically impossible,” since Starlink does not work over Russian territory.
More about Starshield
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