Elon Musk said Wednesday that new speed restrictions disrupting Ukraine's use of Starlink satellite internet were imposed by the US government, not by his company SpaceX, after Kyiv said the limits were hampering drone operations at a critical moment in the war.
Starlink's military-grade sister network, Starshield, imposed a speed cap of 100 mph (160 km/h) on Ukrainian terminals Tuesday night, cutting connectivity for any drones or weapons moving faster than that threshold. Ukrainian officials said the restriction disrupted battlefield "missions" and came without warning, just as Russia launched one of its largest strikes of the war on Ukrainian energy and communications infrastructure. A senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Serhiy Beskrestnov, wrote on Telegram that "it is clear that this action cannot be a coincidence and is related to the current political situation."
Connectivity was partially restored by Wednesday evening. Ukraine's Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on X that "removing Starshield's speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine's defense," thanking Musk and asking for his continued support. Musk replied about an hour later, defending his company's role. "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government," he wrote. "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS." He added that Starlink is intended for "civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company."
Tension over a diesel deal with Moscow
The dispute has unfolded alongside a deepening rift between Kyiv and Washington. Zelensky has said the United States threatened to restrict intelligence sharing if he refused to sign on to Trump's proposed energy ceasefire; Trump has denied making that threat. Visiting London this week, Zelensky told British broadcasters he felt "betrayed" after the US struck a deal to import 300,000 tonnes of diesel from Russia. "Really yes … but it's a little bit more complicated than just my emotions or my feelings," he said when pressed on the comment.
Musk has also turned up the political pressure on Zelensky directly. Responding to a post arguing the war would not end until Russia was defeated, Musk wrote late Wednesday, "And so the slaughter continues … Time for Zelensky to go," echoing earlier comments in which he agreed it was "time for Ukraine to get a new leader." Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia's 2022 invasion, with elections suspended for the duration.
During his one-day visit to London, Zelensky was received by Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Downing Street and held an audience with King Charles. The UK announced it would speed up delivery of lightweight multirole missiles used to shoot down Russian drones. "We are behind you and that will not change," Burnham told him. Kyiv is pressing SpaceX to lift the Starshield speed cap entirely, while US officials have given no public timetable for resolving the restriction.
