SpaceX has seemingly lifted the limits it placed on the Ukrainian military’s use of Starshield, the defense‑grade version of its Starlink satellite internet system. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara told reporters that the service now seems to be operating normally, although the armed forces are still running tests and have not been given an explanation for the earlier restrictions.
The restrictions followed a ten‑day stretch in which Ukrainian drones lost internet connectivity when traveling at roughly 100 miles per hour, causing the military to lose control of some unmanned aircraft while others became more vulnerable because they were flying more slowly.
The Wall Street Journal also noted that President Donald Trump called SpaceX chief Elon Musk on Wednesday and asked him to restore the Starshield service. Both Trump and Musk have publicly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; Musk recently posted on X that “Zelensky has gone too far.”
Earlier reporting indicated that Musk ordered SpaceX to throttle Ukraine’s Starlink access, and some sources said he discussed the move with the Trump administration beforehand. Musk later wrote on X that Ukraine had “violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people.” He added that if Starlink were turned off, “the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately,” emphasizing that his statement was “not a threat, it is simply a statement of fact.”