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Satellite Internet

Ukraine denies Musk's claim it used Starlink for drone strikes

Ukrainian activist Serhii Sternenko has denied Elon Musk's claim that Kyiv violated Starlink's terms by using the service for offensive drone strikes, saying drone missions requiring satellite links could only run on military Starshield.

By Sarah Whitfield · · 1 min read

Elon Musk and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in separate portraits
Photo: OneIndia

Ukrainian activist and former defence ministry adviser Serhii Sternenko has denied Elon Musk’s claim that Ukraine violated Starlink’s terms of service by using the civilian satellite system for offensive drone strikes.

“As someone who was inside the process at the Ministry of Defense, I can say with certainty that this is not true,” Sternenko wrote on X on Saturday. He said a “whitelist” system introduced in February allowed both military personnel and civilians to register stationary terminals, but any terminal operating while moving had to be added to a special list and connected to Starshield, the military version of Starlink.

“Otherwise, no satellite communication terminals in Ukraine would work,” Sternenko added, saying the use of civilian Starlink for drone missions was therefore “technically impossible” and that all drone campaigns requiring satellite communications could only run on Starshield.

Presidential adviser Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov also denied Musk’s claim, writing on Facebook that all Starlink terminals operating in Ukraine carry a speed restriction of 70-90 kilometres an hour and do not work on Russian territory. “Thus, we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep strikes and medium-range strikes,” he wrote.

The denials answer Musk’s post on X on Saturday, in which he said Ukraine’s military “violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people” and that the “loophole” had been closed last week. Musk also said that were Starlink to be turned off, “the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately.”

The exchange follows the restoration of full-speed Starlink and Starshield service in Ukraine on Saturday morning, after more than a week of speed caps, as reported by Flip News earlier.

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