Ukrainian authorities have accused SpaceX of deliberately throttling Starlink satellite services, a move they claim has severely disrupted military operations. According to Serhii Beskrestnov, a defence technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the connectivity restrictions were applied without warning to terminals traveling at speeds exceeding 100mph on Wednesday. This interference has effectively hindered Ukraine’s ability to navigate drones, leaving the military “deprived of one of the few chances to defend itself from Shahed drones,” Beskrestnov stated on Telegram. He added that frontline logistics and long-distance missions were also disrupted.
The slowdown coincides with a second consecutive night of Russian ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, which have resulted in at least nine deaths and significant damage to critical heating and power infrastructure. Beskrestnov suggested the timing is not coincidental, drawing a connection to a recent agreement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin regarding the importation of Russian diesel, despite existing international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow.
The alleged service limitations have drawn sharp criticism from Poland, which covers the costs of Starlink subscriptions for Ukraine. Radoslaw Sikorski, the Polish foreign minister, directed a pointed message at the SpaceX chief on social media, writing: “Hey Elon Musk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you.”
This public confrontation echoes a 2025 social media dispute involving Musk, Sikorski, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, where Musk insulted the Polish minister as a “small man” after being questioned about his control over the satellite network. That tension originated when Musk, a major donor to the Republican Party and former adviser to Trump, threatened that Ukraine’s frontline could collapse if he disabled Starlink, though he later pledged never to use the technology as a “bargaining chip.”
Meanwhile, questions remain regarding intelligence sharing during the current escalation. While President Zelenskyy reported that Ukraine had not received standard warnings from Western allies regarding the recent attacks, Trump stated that the US has continued its intelligence cooperation. Adding to the diplomatic friction, a separate Ukrainian official speaking to AFP alleged that Washington is actively participating in throttling the network to assist Russia.
These developments follow recent rhetoric from Trump, who on Saturday suggested that Zelenskyy bears responsibility for high diesel prices in the US and had failed to take sufficient steps to bring an end to the conflict.
