Starlink 70 km/h Cap Contradicts Musk's Drone Breach Claim

SpaceX introduced a speed restriction on satellite terminals in Ukraine last week, a move that triggered a public dispute over the commercial use of its internet service. The change set the stage for a disagreement between the company's owner and Kyiv regarding how the technology was being deployed in combat.

Elon Musk posted on social media on Saturday that Ukraine violated the terms of service for Starlink, the company's civilian commercial service. He argued that using the system for offensive drone strikes to kill people was never permitted and that the specific loophole was closed with the recent restrictions.

Musk distinguished the commercial Starlink service from Starshield, the military variant controlled by the US government. He stated that decisions regarding Starshield were up to Washington, while the Ukrainian military specifically breached the rules for the commercial tier.

Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology advisor for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rejected the accusation in a Telegram post on Sunday. He noted that all Starlink terminals operating over Ukrainian territory, including areas occupied by Russia, were already subject to movement speed limits of 70 to 90 kilometers per hour.

Beskrestnov described Musk's claim as physically impossible given those existing constraints. He added that the satellite network does not function over the territory of Russia, further limiting the scope of the commercial service in the conflict zone.

One current official and one former official from Ukraine supported Beskrestnov's assessment. They suggested that Musk was actually referring to a throttling of Starshield access rather than the commercial Starlink service. Zelenskyy announced over the weekend that the new satellite restrictions have been lifted, resolving the immediate operational issue.