According to Elon Musk, limits on Starshield’s speed and use are set by the US military, with President Donald Trump holding final authority. Musk distinguished the government-run system from SpaceX’s commercial service.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had charged SpaceX with limiting access to Starshield, the military variant of its satellite internet service built specifically for the Pentagon. An unnamed Ukrainian official told Axios on Thursday that Starlink and Starshield were back at full capacity, and that Ukraine had resumed strikes on Russian refineries by Thursday.
Before service was restored, responsibility had become the subject of a public argument. Musk and the White House both rejected blame and pointed to one another instead. Musk offered no account of how the disruption was decided.
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government,” the SpaceX CEO posted on Wednesday. “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”
Turning to the company’s commercial service, he added: “Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX.” He continued: “Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company.”
It’s a murky line, since Ukraine is resisting Russia’s invasion. People using Musk’s social network disputed that reasoning, saying Ukraine’s actions could qualify as defensive. Futurism’s source report criticized his statement on another ground: his considerable influence in Washington could have allowed him a role in the decision. Reporter Ryan Mac also suggested he could have been involved. Neither criticism establishes that Musk directed the restrictions.
The sequence of events brought an additional political issue into the dispute. The Hill reported that only days separated Zelensky’s announcement from Trump’s announcement of a deal with Russian president Vladimir Putin to buy millions of tons of diesel to lower US prices ahead of the fast-approaching midterm elections. Although Futurism cast doubt on the timing, it established no link between that agreement and the limits on service.
On Wednesday, several hours before Musk spoke about the matter, Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, called for accountability. Blumenthal’s post called reports of Starlink failures in Ukraine deeply alarming, warning that outages could cripple air defense against Russian missiles and drones. “Trump & Musk must be held accountable,” he wrote on Wednesday.
During a Wednesday interview, Zelensky was asked if he felt Trump had betrayed him. He answered The Guardian: “Really, yes… but it’s a little bit more complicated than just my emotions or my feelings.” He added: “It’s a pity that we are losing, we are losing a strong partner.”
The network has supported Ukraine since the war’s early stages. SpaceX delivered on CEO Elon Musk’s pledge in early 2022, sending thousands of Starlink broadband internet terminals to the Ukrainian front lines soon after Russia launched its invasion. The terminals quickly became a vital lifeline as many parts of the embattled region were plunged into darkness and cut off from the rest of the world. As the war continues some four years later, availability of those satellite services has once more become a point of contention over military support.
Accusations that Musk was playing both sides predate this dispute. According to a claim by biographer Walter Isaacson, Musk privately ordered SpaceX engineers to leave Starlink inactive near the Crimean coast in 2022, seeking to disrupt an operation he described as a “mini-Pearl Harbor.” The claim relates to a separate, earlier episode and does not establish who ordered the current limits.
Thursday’s reported restoration of access still leaves unresolved who set the restrictions, whose authorization they had and why they acted.
