Ukraine said on Saturday, October 24, that Starlink and its military version, Starshield, had returned to normal operation after more than a week of restrictions that Kyiv said disrupted military communications and some drone-defence operations.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said connections remained stable for systems moving at speeds above 400 kilometres per hour. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the services had recovered to their pre-restriction performance, while Ukrainian officials stressed that the country could not use Starlink for long- or medium-range attack-drone operations.
Hours later, SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk accused the Ukrainian military of violating the service’s terms by using Starlink for offensive drone strikes. The competing claims have not been independently resolved. The episode has renewed questions about Ukraine’s reliance on commercial satellite communications during the war.
Illustrative image: maks_d / Unsplash.
