A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. U.S. Space Force photo by Gwendolyn Kurzen (public domain).
Ukraine accused Elon Musk's SpaceX on Wednesday of quietly restricting its military-grade Starlink satellite service, crippling Ukrainian drone operations — just as Russia unleashed one of the heaviest bombardments of the war against Ukraine's power grid.
Ukrainian officials said SpaceX, without warning, cut off Starlink terminals moving above roughly 100 miles per hour, preventing Kyiv from using them as onboard guidance for drones. "Our defence forces did not receive a warning about this limitation, and this led to the disruption of several missions," presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov wrote on Telegram. Ukraine's 7th Rapid Reaction Corps told Reuters that connections were dropping for 10 to 20 seconds at speeds of just 110 to 120 kilometers per hour, making drones harder to control.
The accusation drew a sharp response from Poland, which pays for Ukraine's Starlink subscriptions. "Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?" Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on X. "As your European customers, we are watching you." Neither Musk nor SpaceX had responded to the claims.
The timing could hardly be worse for Kyiv. Overnight, Russia fired 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones at Ukrainian cities, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, with strikes concentrated on energy infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv. About 600,000 people were left without electricity. Rescue workers in Kyiv pulled the injured from a blasted residential building where officials said two people were killed and 21 wounded. Ukraine reported intercepting just 4 of the 39 missiles, underscoring its shortage of air defenses.
The dispute lands amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Kyiv and Washington. Last week, President Donald Trump abruptly lifted sanctions on Russian diesel and publicly turned on Zelensky, saying Ukrainians should choose a new wartime leader. Musk echoed that message, writing on X that Zelensky "has gone too far." Trump also announced that both sides had agreed to stop attacking energy targets — a claim neither Moscow nor Kyiv confirmed, and one Russia's latest barrage appeared to mock. Zelensky called the strikes "ostentatious disrespect" toward the United States.
The episode has already rattled markets and allies. Shares in European satellite operator Eutelsat jumped more than 11% on Wednesday as investors bet that strained ties between Washington and Kyiv could push Europe toward non-American space systems. Analysts note Europe has no ready-made replacement for either Starlink or the U.S. satellite constellation that provides early warning of ballistic missile launches.