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The SpaceX satellite Internet in Ukraine started working again last weekend the same as in the first half of October, before the restrictions were introduced. However, the story of its artificial slowdown has left behind many questions, the main one of which is who made the decision to limit it and why? Comments by SpaceX owner Elon Musk and American management did not clarify the situation.
The Russian service of the BBC tried to understand the specifics of the provision of services by SpaceX to the Ukrainian armed forces and the claims that Elon Musk made to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Starlink and Starshield operations have been restored to the speeds we had before the restrictions were imposed. The speeds are now what they should be,” Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky wrote on social network X on Saturday.
On the same day, Elon Musk wrote a large post on the same X network, in which he accused the Ukrainian Armed Forces of certain violations of the procedure for using the Starlink network.
“The use of Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been authorized and should not be so. […] The Ukrainian military violated the terms of use of Starlink and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. This loophole was closed last week,” Elon Musk said in a post on social network X.
However, he did not explain exactly what actions of the Ukrainian military contained a violation of the terms of use of Starlink, and how and by whom these alleged violations were corrected.
The Starlink and Starshield networks are mentioned in news reports and comments from officials. Starshield is a separate product from SpaceX. This is a military data network, generally similar to and related to Starlink.
The Ukrainian army uses both networks, but since they are interconnected and also developed by the same company, they are often confused. Starshield in Ukraine is used more to control drones, Starlink is used to provide Internet on the ground through stationary terminals.
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Musk said his comments do not relate to the Starshield system, which he claims is controlled by the US government.
For the first time, SpaceX’s satellite Internet restrictions became known on October 14. It was primarily about limiting the speed of movement of the user terminal, at which it continues to receive and transmit signals, to 160 kilometers per hour.
This parameter was important for installing terminals on drones, which greatly facilitates their control. The limit of 160 kilometers per hour excludes the operation of, for example, interceptor drones. There have been reports of speed limits on both Starlink and Starshield.
What are Starlink and Starshield?
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Starshield is a separate SpaceX product from Starlink. It is a military data network broadly similar to and related to Starlink, but there are important differences between the two.
"Starlink and Starshield are physically different satellites. Both groups have excellent Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) indices - they are tracked separately. They are apparently a little heavier, have a number of classified differences and can carry additional equipment on board. The satellites themselves are also assembled separately, but, of course, they have a number of common components," an expert, author of the Texas Herald channel dedicated to space exploration, told the BBC. research, Georgy Trishkin.
“Starlink is a commercial network for the consumer and enterprise sectors and for some military purposes. […] For everything else, there is Starshield, which is available only to national customers from different countries, has global coverage, higher speed and all restrictions have been removed for it, but the cost of services depends on the tasks,” he explained.
The Starshield section on the official website of SpaceX says that as part of this project, special satellites are being built that can not only engage in remote sensing of the Earth, but also be equipped with other equipment by agreement with the customer. In addition, it says that the Starshield satellites form a separate network.
In February 2026, after the Russian military began using Starlink terminals on their drones, unofficially imported through third countries, SpaceX changed the way its satellite Internet operates.
The so-called “white lists” were introduced - after purchasing a terminal on the territory of Ukraine, it could only work if registered with special services.
Fixed Starlink terminals could be registered by both military personnel and civilians. But for any satellite terminal to work while on the move, in Ukraine it had to be connected to the Starshield network.
At the same time, Starlink can technically be used at high speed: SpaceX offers several tariffs that allow it to be used even on jet airliners.
Is it true that Starlink cannot be used offensively?
The use of Starlink in war is discussed in the Acceptable Use Policy section of Starlink.com. There is no mention of offensive or strike missions in which the network cannot be used, but there is a framework restriction that excludes the use of this network for military purposes at all.
The subsection "Examples of Policy Violations" specifically states that it is prohibited to use or attempt to use Starlink "for any military activity other than for the purpose of providing leisure or quality of life support to military personnel with the approval of SpaceX."
Another document, Starlink's Terms of Service, states that "Starlink is not designed or intended for use in conjunction with or as part of offensive or defensive weapons or 'similar end users.'" In other words, this section specifies the use of satellite communications only outside of weapons systems. For example, to ensure the transfer of information.
Installation of Starlink terminals on unmanned aerial vehicles or other vehicles is separately subject to the Acceptable Use Policy. It says that using Starlink it is prohibited to remotely control any drone or uncrewed vehicle unless specified in a contract with SpaceX.
SpaceX explains these restrictions because any military use of Starlink kits or services could make them subject to U.S. export control laws and require special government approval for export, support or use outside the United States. This is stated in the Terms of Service.
In other words, foreign military use of Starlink is regulated by the US government. Meanwhile, such permission from the American government was received at least once.
On August 29, 2025, the US State Department approved the supply of “satellite communications services and related equipment to Ukraine under the foreign military sales program in the amount of approximately $150 million.”
The document referred to Ukraine's request to "expand satellite communications services for its Starlink terminals." It also stipulated that the supply program would include "U.S. Government and contractor engineering and logistics services, as well as other related elements of logistics and program support."
“This proposed sale will not have a negative impact on U.S. combat readiness,” the document said.
What are offensive and defensive weapons?
Advisor to the President of Ukraine on the development of technological areas of defense Sergei Beskrestnov, who uses the call sign “Flash,” wrote in his Telegram channel that Ukrainians “physically cannot use commercial Starlink to attack Russian territory,” since Starlink does not operate over Russian territory. Thus, he commented on Elon Musk’s statement about the ban on the use of Starlink in offensive drone strikes.
However, in international humanitarian law there is no generally accepted universal definition of “offensive weapons” and “defensive weapons”.
The “weapons” section of the International Red Cross website, which contains legal documents governing issues of war and peace, contains information about specific types of weapons that are defined in humanitarian law. For example, about chemical weapons, explosive bullets or anti-personnel mines.
There is no mention of “offensive” or “defensive” weapons. This may be due to the fact that the same weapons can be used offensively and defensively.
For example, an apparently defensive system - an anti-aircraft missile system - could serve to protect a city from an air raid, shoot down enemy aircraft during an offensive, or generally serve as a launcher for ground strikes. A tank, a combat aircraft, a machine gun, like most weapons systems, can operate for defensive or offensive purposes.
The Starlink website also does not contain examples of offensive or defensive uses of Starlink systems.
In the same X post where Musk chided Ukraine for illegally using Starlink, he wrote: “Starlink remains critical to Ukraine's defense as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or destroyed, at least for now. […] Starlink also played a critical role in preventing Russia from taking over Ukraine in the early days of the war, as all other communications were destroyed or jammed by Russia.”
“If Starlink is disabled, Ukraine's front line will collapse immediately. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact,” that post said.
The Ukrainian army really depends heavily on the Internet at the front. Reuters reported on October 16 that due to a reduction in Internet speed in one of the artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbass, communication with headquarters was interrupted. “We felt it instantly. The Internet speed at our position has dropped noticeably, and communication with headquarters and command has deteriorated significantly,” the agency quotes the words of one of the servicemen stationed at the front.
Who limited satellite Internet for Ukraine?
Elon Musk did not give a clear official answer to the question of who made the decision to limit the Internet in Ukraine in his post on the social network X.
There have been reports in the world press over the past two weeks that Musk and the Donald Trump administration may have been involved in the slowdown.
According to the head of SpaceX, he had nothing to do with the Starshield slowdown. “This is a different system that is controlled by the US government. What they decide to do is their business,” he wrote.
On October 15, Reuters, citing sources, reported that the decision to slow down Starshield was made at the White House.
Elon Musk wrote about this directly the day before: “Any restrictions on speed or use are determined by the US Armed Forces and, ultimately, the President of the United States.”
Donald Trump denies making such a decision. On October 16, speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, he said neither he nor Musk had anything to do with Starlink's internet restrictions. The restriction on Starshield's operation also has nothing to do with the United States, he added.
“Starlink is completely controlled by SpaceX, and in some cases they synchronize work with local operators who sell local services under a white label. With Starshield, everything is more complicated, since depending on the contract, they can transfer their Starshield devices in orbit to the balance sheet - this is the old defense order scheme. SpaceX here sells the service and provides technical support in managing the constellation, but the operator itself is the customer, be it the USSF [US Space Force] or NRO [National Reconnaissance Office - a national intelligence office that deals with electronic intelligence]. The company does not see what exactly the operator is doing and legally protects itself from their actions. But what exactly the decision-making chain looks like for sensitive cases and with which departments is not publicly known,” explains Georgy Trishkin.
After all satellite Internet parameters in Ukraine had been restored, Donald Trump, answering another question about who made the decision, again avoided answering.
“I don’t want to comment on whether I called or someone else. I don't think it matters. The main thing is that he returned everything as it was,” Trump said, answering a question about the conversation with Musk.
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