Ukraine accuses Elon Musk’s SpaceX of throttling Starlink terminals

What the report says

Ukraine has accused Elon Musk’s SpaceX of limiting Starlink service at a sensitive moment in its war with Russia, according to Al Jazeera. Ukrainian officials said the slowdown affected terminals moving at high speed and may have reduced the country’s ability to operate drone missions and other battlefield communications. The claims were made after a second straight night of Russian ballistic missile strikes hit Kyiv, adding pressure on Ukraine’s air defenses and emergency services.

Serhii Beskrestnov, a defence technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Telegram that the reported restrictions left Ukraine with fewer options to defend itself against Shahed drones and disrupted frontline logistics and longer-range operations. Al Jazeera also reported that the allegations triggered criticism from Poland, which helps pay for Ukrainian Starlink subscriptions, with Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski questioning whether Musk was politicizing the service.

SpaceX has previously said it would not intentionally shut off Starlink for Ukraine or use it as leverage. The article places the dispute in the broader context of Ukraine’s reliance on satellite internet for military coordination and communications, especially as Russian strikes continue to damage energy infrastructure and complicate wartime recovery. Separately, Al Jazeera reported that Ukrainian leaders said they had not received the usual warnings from some Western partners, though the article did not identify which ones.