Ukrainian officials have rejected Elon Musk’s assertion that their military used SpaceX’s civilian Starlink network for offensive drone strikes in violation of its terms of service. Serhii Beskrestnov, a defence technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said existing restrictions make such strikes impossible. He said civilian Starlink limits drone speeds to 70 to 90 kilometres per hour in Ukraine and does not operate in Russia.
Musk said SpaceX had recently throttled Starlink in Ukraine, arguing that offensive drone strikes were never permitted on the commercial service. He said the United States government controls changes to Starshield, SpaceX’s military-focused system. Ukrainian officials reported that high-speed restrictions on Starshield disrupted drone operations and air defences during Russian attacks. They said the restrictions were lifted on Saturday, restoring service. Responsibility for the interruptions remains disputed.
The dispute comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts. According to the account, Russia agreed to resume talks with Ukraine and the United States next month. Kyiv and Moscow also agreed to a localized ceasefire around Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in southern Ukraine. Zelenskyy said Russia launched nearly 2,300 drones against Ukrainian cities over the past week, damaging civilian and commercial sites in nine regions. He urged Western allies to accelerate deliveries of interceptors.
Regional authorities reported four deaths and more than a dozen injuries after overnight Russian attacks in Dnipropetrovsk. Emergency officials said a drone strike on a residential building in Vinnytsia injured at least six people, while strikes on a Kharkiv shopping centre injured four, including three rescue workers. Russia said the Kharkiv site stored goods intended for Ukraine’s military. Russian officials, meanwhile, reported two deaths in Belgorod and four in Oryol following Ukrainian strikes. Ukraine said its target in Oryol was an electronics plant producing missile components. Competing accounts of military targets have not been independently verified.