SpaceX throttling: Musk confirms intention to blame Ukraine
The Ukrainian military relies on the Starlink satellite network for drone operations. But Elon Musk throttled the SpaceX service to 160 kilometers per hour for more than a week and justified this with “violations” on the part of Ukraine.
Suspicion of intervention confirmed
The suspicion has been confirmed: Elon Musk said on Saturday that his company SpaceX had throttled the Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, thereby affecting operations that the country relies on to defend itself against Russia. If Ukrainian drones moved faster than 160 kilometers per hour, the connection was lost. According to Ukrainian officials, this made intercepting Russian attack drones more difficult, led to the cancellation of missions and affected front-line logistics. Musk justified the measure on Platform X with a violation of the terms of use: the Ukrainian armed forces had used the civilian service for offensive attacks.
The restrictions have now been lifted. As Reuters reported that the Starlink and Starshield networks are providing stable connections again. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the technology works reliably again even at speeds of over 400 kilometers per hour. The throttling had previously sparked significant diplomatic tensions between Kyiv and Washington.
Political significance is growing
According to Reuters, the order to throttle Starshield came from the White House. The process coincided with a plan by US President Donald Trump to buy Russian diesel. At the same time, the US government is urging Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries. Trump confirmed on Saturday that he spoke directly with Musk about the incident. Ukraine uses SpaceX systems for frontline communications and to control medium-range drones. According to the military, however, the satellites will not be used for long-range attacks on Russian territory.
US MPs from both parties are now calling for an investigation into Musk and SpaceX because of allegedly unilateral restrictions on the service. According to Ukrainian officials, the disruption left the country vulnerable to Russian attacks. Separately, Kiev and Moscow agreed on Friday to a local ceasefire brokered by Melania Trump around Oleshky in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson.
Research Snipers is currently covering all technology news including Google, Apple, Android, Xiaomi, Huawei, Samsung News, and More. Research Snipers has decade of experience in breaking technology news, covering latest trends in tech news, and recent developments. Can be reached at author1@researchsnipers.com
