Elon Musk reveals why he restricted Starlink in Ukraine
Elon Musk sharply attacked Ukraine, accusing it of violating Starlink's terms of service for lethal drone strikes, and defended the restrictions that disrupted the Ukrainian military's operations for over a week. Trump confirmed a call with Musk, but Rubio and Hegseth denied involvement. After service restoration, Ukraine announced expanded access.
Billionaire Elon Musk launched a sharp attack on Ukraine after more than a week of speed restrictions on Starlink satellite communication services disrupted the Ukrainian military's war effort against Russia. Musk accused Kyiv of violating the service's terms of use for conducting lethal drone strikes and claimed that SpaceX had contributed more to Ukraine's defense than any other private company. In a series of posts on X, Musk defended the decision to limit usage, writing that "the use of Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes intended to kill people was never allowed." U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed he spoke with Musk on the matter, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied any government involvement. After more than a week, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced that full access to the service had been restored and expanded. The article notes that Ukraine's complete dependence on Starlink raises complex issues about the limits of a commercial company's power in managing a geopolitical campaign.