After more than a week of restrictions that disrupted Ukrainian military operations, Starlink and its government version Starshield are operating again at their usual speed in Ukraine. This restoration is accompanied by a new element: Elon Musk acknowledges that SpaceX has limited the use of the commercial service, while accusing the Ukrainian military of having violated its conditions of use.
A restoration confirmed after very specific restrictions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on October 24 that the performance of Starlink and Starshield had returned to its previous level. The return to service began overnight before being reviewed in the morning by MoD teams. This confirmation constitutes a substantial advance compared to the situation we recently discussed: the limitations were not completely lifted and their origin remained publicly questioned.
The problem was not a complete shutdown of the Internet. Terminals installed on vehicles or drones lost their effectiveness above approximately 160 km/h. This limit may seem high for civilian use, but it is decisive for fast military aircraft. According to Ukrainian officials, it significantly complicated the interception of Russian drones, disrupted certain communications and caused the cancellation of operations.
Starlink is based on a constellation of low-orbit satellites and terminals capable of establishing a link without requiring local ground infrastructure. This architecture is particularly useful in an area where mobile antennas, cables and data centers may be destroyed or deprived of power. Ukraine also uses Starshield, an offering based on Starlink technology but aimed at governments and national security missions. Therefore, contractual and operational responsibilities are not identical between both services.
Elon Musk recognizes moderation, but the distribution of responsibilities remains in dispute
Hours after kyiv’s announcement, Elon Musk said the Ukrainian military had used Starlink for offensive drone strikes, in violation of the terms of service, he claimed. He stated that a “loophole” that allowed this use had been closed the previous week. The statement marks an important change: SpaceX no longer denies having applied a restriction at least on the commercial component of Starlink.
Kyiv, however, rejects this presentation. Serhiy Beskrestnov, advisor to the Ukrainian presidency, maintains that the country does not use Starlink for its long- or medium-range attacks against Russian territory. It distinguishes these missions from frontline communications and interception drones, for which satellite connectivity remains essential. At the moment, no public technical demonstration allows us to completely separate the versions on the precise uses that gave rise to the measure.
The Starshield case adds another layer of uncertainty. Elon Musk had previously argued that the US government controlled the limits of this military offer. US officials, for their part, shifted responsibility to SpaceX. Reuters reported that the slowdown order came from inside the White House, but neither the US administration nor the company released a document detailing the authority that decided on each restriction. Therefore, the return to normality does not close the issue of the chain of command.
This distinction is not only legal. While a private company can change a business rule, a service purchased for government operations typically depends on a defined contract, service levels, and authorization procedures. The public confusion observed during the crisis shows that a technically unified network can span several usage regimes, the boundaries of which become difficult to read at the most critical moment.
A strategic dependency without an immediate replacement solution
The episode recalls the weight that SpaceX has acquired in Ukrainian communications. Starlink is not only used to control devices: it connects units, transmits data and maintains exchanges in areas where traditional networks are degraded. Therefore, a limitation based on movement speed can affect several functions without completely silencing the terminals, which complicates the diagnosis and attribution of a malfunction.
Europe is developing competitive solutions, but none can quickly replace Starlink’s coverage and capacity. We have already detailed the increase in power of IRIS², the future European constellation, as well as the order for 229 additional OneWeb satellites by Eutelsat. These projects can diversify access in the medium term, but do not yet have a comparable terminal fleet, orbital density and operational integration on the Ukrainian terrain.
Restoring the network reduces the immediate risk, without eliminating the risk of a new unilateral decision or a contractual dispute. Therefore, for European governments, the challenge is not to find a single substitute, but to combine multiple operators, terrestrial networks, sovereign military connections and emergency resources. Ukraine had already expanded the constellation’s civilian uses by becoming the first European country to deploy Starlink Direct to Cell, showing how the technology has taken root beyond the battlefield.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine gave a precise technical indicator after its checks: the connection remained stable in systems moving at more than 400 km/h. This threshold, significantly higher than the limit of around 160 km/h observed during the restriction period, is the concrete measure on which kyiv bases its claim of a return to previous performance.
