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Restrictions were introduced this month on Starshield, SpaceX’s military version of its Starlink satellite communications system, which is used by the Ukrainian military. Receivers fitted to fast-moving objects, including drones, have stopped working, putting some combat and air defense missions at risk.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that SpaceX chief Elon Musk had restored the services, but denied speaking with him personally about the matter, AnewZ reported. Ukrainian defense and military sources told Reuters on Friday that the speed restrictions remained in force.
How does Ukraine use Starlink and Starshield?
The Ukrainian military uses Starlink for communications and Starshield for specialized military purposes. It says there is currently no other service with capabilities comparable to Starlink, which has become the primary means of communication between units on the front line.
Starshield receivers, which are largely resistant to electronic interference, are used on drones for navigation and to connect them with remote pilots. These drones also operate deep inside areas of Ukraine under Russian control. Under the latest restrictions, receivers lose their connection when moving faster than 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour.
Ukrainian officials say the restrictions hinder drones striking Russian targets inside Ukraine, as well as some fast interceptor drones used to repel Russian drone attacks.
Medium-range attack drones controlled through Starshield have played an important role in changing the battlefield situation this year. Remote pilots can direct the drones toward moving targets such as Russian supply trucks and trains.
Fast interceptor drones are among the few means Ukraine uses to protect its cities from jet-powered attack drones, one of Russia’s recent additions to its arsenal. Russia launches attacks with these drones every night.
Responsibility for the restrictions is disputed
Neither Elon Musk nor the U.S. government has accepted responsibility for restricting Starlink or Starshield services in Ukraine. Both have publicly said that only the other party could have made such a decision.
Reuters reported last week, citing two U.S. officials and a Western official briefed on the matter, that the order for the restrictions came from the White House. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that Musk personally decided to limit the service.
After the restrictions became public, Musk said Starshield is owned and operated by the U.S. government. He said that any limits on the service’s speed or use had been set by the U.S. military and, ultimately, by Trump. Musk also said the commercial Starlink system was not designed or authorized for military use.
Trump denied involvement in any decision to limit the service. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that decisions about Ukraine’s access to Starlink were up to SpaceX and Musk, not the White House.
The restrictions came as relations between Kyiv and Washington were becoming strained. Trump has been pressing Kyiv to accept greater concessions in a possible peace deal with Moscow.
Trump has also pressed Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries. However, Starshield is not used on the drones involved in those attacks because the system does not operate in Russian territory.
How do Starlink and Starshield work?
Starlink, SpaceX’s main source of revenue, is an internet network made up of more than 11,000 satellites. The satellites transmit broadband internet directly to user terminals about the size of a folded newspaper. Its roughly 13 million subscribers include households, hikers, shipping companies and major airlines.
SpaceX launched its first Starlink satellites in 2019 using reusable rockets. Since then, the company has built a low Earth orbit satellite network that covers much of the planet. It generally provides faster connections than traditional communications satellites, which are fewer in number and orbit farther from Earth.
Starshield is a SpaceX division that develops military and intelligence satellite systems for the Pentagon. Although its missions are separate from Starlink’s commercial broadband service, the distinction is not always clear: Starshield’s secure communications services use enhanced encryption and specialized terminals but rely on the broader Starlink satellite network as their core infrastructure.
SpaceX says that, in addition to secure communications, Starshield can enable users to observe Earth’s surface and integrate sensors and other payloads into the system.
