"The loophole has been closed": Musk claimed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had allegedly violated the terms of use for Starlink
On October 24, Elon Musk stated that SpaceX had restricted the use of Starlink for offensive drone strikes. The billionaire claims that without this system, the Ukrainian front would collapse immediately.
The change in the terms of use for satellite communications was announced online. According to the businessman, the Ukrainian military had been using the system for offensive drone attacks, which allegedly violates the service’s rules. As a result, SpaceX disabled that capability last week.
What reason did Musk give for the restrictions?
“Starshield is a different system controlled by the U.S. government. It decides for itself how to use it. The Ukrainian military violated Starlink’s terms of service by using it for offensive drone strikes intended to kill people. Last week, we closed that loophole,” said Elon Musk.
The company’s founder emphasized that Starlink remains critically important for the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defensive operations. According to him, it is the only communications network that the enemy cannot jam or destroy using electronic warfare capabilities.
In addition, the businessman recalled that at the start of the full-scale war, the terminals helped halt the advance of Russian forces.
What led up to this?
Earlier, media reports indicated that military terminals were subject to speed limits of introduced speed limits. Due to the complex situation, U.S. lawmakers called for lifting the restrictions on the use of this technology over Russian territory.
As of October 24, Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that in Ukraine, Starlink and Starshield terminals have resumed operationshad returned to the speeds available before the restrictions were imposed. Following inspections, experts confirmed that the communication systems are functioning properly.