Ukraine Rejects Musk Claim That Its Military Broke Starlink Rules

Ukrainian officials have pushed back against Elon Musk's claim that the country's military broke the terms of service of Starlink by using the civilian satellite network for offensive drone strikes.

Serhii Beskrestnov, a defence technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said restrictions that have long applied to the civilian system in Ukraine rule out that kind of use. "It's very strange that Elon Musk doesn't know about the restrictions on Starlink's operation in Ukraine," he wrote in an online post.

Writing on Telegram, Beskrestnov said drones operated through civilian Starlink face a speed cap of 70 to 90 km/h inside Ukraine and do not function in Russia. "Therefore, we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep strikes or medium-range strikes," he said.

Starlink and Starshield, SpaceX's military-focused service, are central to Ukraine's wartime connectivity. Earlier this month, Ukrainian drones connected to Starshield lost connectivity at high speeds, which disrupted air defences during daily Russian air attacks. Officials said the speed caps were lifted on Saturday and service was restored. Questions remain over who ordered the interruptions.

Musk acknowledged on Saturday that SpaceX had throttled Starlink in Ukraine. He wrote that using a civilian commercial service for offensive drone strikes "has never been allowed, nor should it be," and that the loophole was closed last week. He also maintained that the U.S. government controlled any changes to Starshield, the military-grade version that underpins Ukraine's drone operations and communications. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he did not make that call, while Vice-President JD Vance has hinted at White House co-ordination with Musk.

The restrictions alarmed Ukrainian military and government officials, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions. They also added strain to relations between Kyiv and Washington, which were already tested by Trump's reported deal with Moscow to import Russian diesel, something Ukraine saw as a betrayal.

The service was restored after a fresh U.S. diplomatic push to end the war. Russia agreed on Wednesday to resume three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv next month. On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow also agreed to a localized ceasefire around Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in the southern Kherson region, brokered through efforts by first lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo.

The fighting continued meanwhile. Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia had launched nearly 2,300 drones at Ukrainian cities over the past week, hitting nine regions and damaging power plants, grain stores, homes and commercial sites. He renewed his call for Western allies to speed up deliveries of interceptors.

Overnight into Sunday, Russia launched more than 20 attacks on the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to local authorities. Three people died at the scene and a fourth later died in hospital, regional military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha said, while more than a dozen were injured. In Vinnytsia, at least six people were hurt when a drone hit a residential building, and 15 elderly residents were evacuated from a damaged care home nearby. In Kharkiv, consecutive strikes on a shopping centre late Saturday injured four people, three of them rescue workers. Russia's Defence Ministry said it targeted sites there that stored dual-use goods for the Ukrainian military.

In Russia, Belgorod Gov. Alexander Shuvayev said two people were killed and 13 injured in overnight Ukrainian drone strikes. In Oryol, a fourth victim was recovered from the rubble after a Ukrainian strike on an industrial plant. Ukraine's general staff said the target was an electronics plant that makes components for missiles Russia fires at Ukrainian cities.