Musk Claims Control of Starlink Throttle, Denies Starshield Role

Elon Musk posted on X on Saturday that he personally ordered the slowdown of Starlink satellite internet speeds inside Ukraine, a restriction that military commanders said cost them drones and missions over the preceding week. He argued that Ukraine's military had broken the terms of service by using the network for offensive strikes. "Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be," Musk wrote. He said the loophole closed last week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the same day that Starlink and Starshield connections had returned to their prior speeds. He said the slowdown had hindered front-line operations for more than a week, and that restoration began overnight and was sufficient by Saturday morning. "The speeds are now where they need to be," Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that the restored links improve logistics and the defence against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones. Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara credited "direct dialogue" and Zelenskyy's diplomacy with Washington, saying the outcome mattered most "for our front, for the military, the work of drones, logistics and communications."

Musk said SpaceX controls the civilian Starlink service but that the U.S. government controls changes to Starshield, the military-grade system underpinning Ukraine's drone operations and communications. He also defended SpaceX's record of supporting Ukraine's defences since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The restrictions on Starshield had alarmed Ukrainian military and government officials, and commanders reported lost drones and disrupted missions during the period.

Disagreement over who ordered the slowdown runs through the U.S. administration. President Donald Trump has said he did not make the call and that Musk should not be blamed. Vice-President JD Vance has suggested White House co-ordination with Musk, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have denied any administration involvement.

The restoration landed amid a fresh U.S. diplomatic push. Russia agreed on Wednesday to resume three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv next month, and on Friday Kyiv and Moscow agreed to a localized ceasefire around Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in the southern Kherson region, brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump. Fighting continued regardless. Ukraine's General Staff said it hit a chemical plant in Tolyatti producing rocket fuel materials and an electronics plant in Oryol making Russian missile components; local officials in Oryol said three people died. Ukrainian drones also reached Russia's Omsk region, more than 2,000 kilometres from the border, where online retailer Ozon said a drone struck its logistics centre with no casualties.

Officials in the Kharkiv region said a man was killed and two others wounded in a missile attack on Lozova. Moscow-installed authorities in Crimea reported blackouts after overnight Ukrainian attacks.