Elon Musk, Starlink and Starshield: Ukraine’s Drone Links Face Disruptions

Satellite links on the battlefield

Starlink and Starshield use thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites. Starlink is SpaceX’s commercial service; Starshield is a military product licensed to the U.S. government and its partners, including Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers said they encountered speed limits on Starshield dishes attached to drones, which pilots use to stay connected with aircraft flying toward Russian targets. The system also links battlefield sensors and weapons, so outages can affect more than drone flights.

Speed limits disrupted drones

Regular Starlink terminals have a 70 km/hr (43.5 mph) speed cap for internet use in moving vehicles; above that speed, service degrades. Drone pilot and Ukrainian Armed Forces analyst Dimko Zhluktenko estimated the Starshield disruption caused tens of millions of dollars in losses.

Who controls the service

Zelenskyy believes Musk throttled Starshield at U.S. officials’ request. Musk has denied imposing restrictions and said the U.S. government controls the military-grade network. President Trump also denied responsibility for slowing service, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon had issued no directives to manipulate it.

Officials seek answers

Russia had used Starlink until February, when SpaceX cut off its access; Ukraine then gained more than 150 square miles of territory. Around the time of the recent service disruptions, Ukraine also missed U.S. intelligence warnings about major Russian strikes. That separate early-warning system failed at least twice, on Oct. 13 and Oct. 1.