Elon Musk said the US government controls speed restrictions on Ukraine's weapons connectivity to SpaceX's Starlink internet network, attributing any limits to the US military and ultimately the president.
Starlink imposed a 100mph speed cap on weapons using its network on Tuesday night, disrupting Ukraine's drone operations during Russian attacks that killed multiple people in Kyiv and left roughly 600,000 Ukrainians without electricity. The restrictions had been partially restored by Wednesday evening, according to Ukraine's former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on X that removing Starshield's speed limit "is now critical for Ukraine's defense" and thanked Musk for his "continued support". Starshield is the military-grade version of Starlink, also owned by SpaceX.
Musk replied that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS." He added that Starlink is restricted to "civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company".
President Volodymyr Zelensky told UK media: "I hope that it's a mistake, maybe a huge technical problem. I don't know, but we are asking to switch it on." An adviser to Zelensky, Serhiy Beskrestnov, wrote on Telegram that the timing "cannot be a coincidence and is related to the current political situation," suggesting connection to tensions between Kyiv and Washington.
The timing coincided with escalating strain between Ukraine and the Trump administration. US President Donald Trump has expressed frustration over Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy facilities. Zelensky said the US threatened to restrict intelligence sharing if he did not agree to Trump's proposed energy ceasefire, though Trump denied this. Musk wrote on X late Wednesday that "time for Zelensky to go," echoing recent comments supporting Ukraine getting new leadership.
During a Wednesday visit to London, Zelensky met with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Downing Street and King Charles. The UK announced plans to accelerate delivery of lightweight multirole missiles to Ukraine for air defense.