Starlink is facing political backlash over a sudden restriction in Ukraine that’s been blocking the country’s military drones from using the satellite internet service to help fight Russia’s ongoing invasion.
News of the restriction initially came from Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. “I confirm that tonight SpaceX has introduced a terminal Starlink speed limit during travel,” he posted on social media. The restriction was imposed on Starshield, the military and government version of Starlink, that the country has been relying on for wartime communications and military operations, including launching drone strikes.
According to Beskrestnov, the sudden restriction has blocked Starshield access on drones and other vehicles traveling over 100 miles per hour. “Our defense forces have not received any warnings about this restriction, and it has led to the failure of several missions. Obviously, this action cannot be a coincidence and is related to the current political situation,” he added.
The sudden restriction has sparked criticism against Starlink, SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk and the Trump administration. The Deputy Prime Minister of Poland Radosław Sikorski even tweeted at SpaceX’s CEO, writing: “Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you.”
But Musk is now responding, and indicating the White House ordered the restriction. “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 (President of The United States),” he wrote in a tweet.
Musk responded when Ukraine’s former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote his own tweet that said: “Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 160 km/h is being restored. Removing Starshield’s speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine’s defense. Thank you @elonmusk. We hope for your continued support.” This suggests the speed restriction is still in place for the military-grade Starshield, but not for the consumer-focused Starlink.
Musk’s tweet elaborates a bit by adding: “Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. 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.”
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So far, the Trump administration hasn’t commented on the matter. But days earlier, President Trump went as far to say it was time for Ukraine to get a new president for failing to reach a peace deal with Russia. SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk also seemed to agree with Trump’s criticism of Ukraine’s President, tweeting on Saturday: “Zelensky has gone too far.”
In the meantime. Ukraine’s President appeared in an interview today with broadcaster Piers Morgan to say, “This decision will bring a lot of human losses,” when the country’s drones have also been used to intercept and stop attacks from Russia’s own Iranian-supplied Shahed drones.
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Oleg Kutkov, a hardware repair expert in Ukraine, also reports that stationary Starlink access remains available in the country. “On my regular service plan, the connection drops after 80 kp/h. This limit has been in effect since 2025,” he wrote.
The backlash occurs when Europe has long been concerned that SpaceX or even Musk himself could pull or restrict support for Starlink in Ukraine. “We will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3,” Musk said back in 2023 in initially defending his decision to limit Ukraine from using the satellite internet service to conduct drone strikes against Russia.
In 2025, Musk also tweeted: “My Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off.” At the same time, SpaceX has also made efforts to prevent Russia from using Starlink in Ukraine, which has included imposing a restrictive “whitelist” earlier this year.
About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Principal Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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