Zelenskyy Lifts Starlink Drone Limits

Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced over the weekend that new satellite restrictions have been lifted. The move resolves a dispute that began nearly two weeks ago between Ukraine and SpaceX.

Elon Musk accused Ukraine on Saturday of violating Starlink terms of service. He stated that the company used the commercial satellite network for offensive drone strikes to kill people. Musk argued that this specific use was not allowed under civilian commercial terms. He noted that Starshield, the military variant controlled by the United States, is a separate system.

Ukrainian officials rejected the accusation. Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology advisor to Zelenskyy, posted on Telegram on Sunday that the claim was physically impossible. Beskrestnov explained that all Starlink terminals on Ukrainian territory were already subject to a movement speed limit of 70 to 90 kilometers per hour. He added that the technology does not function over Russian territory.

SpaceX imposed the speed restriction on Saturday. This action preceded Musk’s public comments regarding the violation of commercial terms. Ukraine officials previously accused Musk of throttling their access to Starshield. They secured access to that military system through a deal with the US government.