Ukrainian officials say SpaceX has put a speed cap on the satellite service Ukraine’s military uses to fly drones, and that it has disrupted missions. Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made the claim in a Telegram post on Wednesday, October 14. As of Wednesday, we have not seen a comment from SpaceX or Elon Musk.
What Ukraine says
Beskrestnov says the limit is about 100 mph (160 km/h) and began overnight with no warning. He describes it as a cap on the military version of the service, called Starshield. Some accounts refer to Starlink more broadly, so the exact service is not settled. Serhii Sternenko, a former adviser to the defense minister, says ordinary customer terminals still work, and that military reports now point to links failing at lower speeds, around 37 to 43 mph (60 to 70 km/h). These figures come from the officials, and we cannot confirm them.
What it does to drones
The army’s 7th Rapid Reaction Corps says units near Huliaipole were hit overnight. It says links can drop for 10 to 20 seconds at about 68 to 75 mph (110 to 120 km/h), which is enough to knock a drone off course in flight. One unit cancelled some missions. Beskrestnov adds that the cap also hurts the interceptor drones Ukraine uses against Shahed attack drones, which he calls its most effective defense. That is his assessment, not a measured result.
The political claim
Beskrestnov says the timing is no coincidence and points to the current political situation, without saying how. Sternenko suggests SpaceX acted at the request of the Trump administration and offers no evidence. Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, asked Musk on X whether he was “playing politics with your products again.” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is said to be looking into the cause.
There is some history here. Earlier this year SpaceX limited Starlink in Ukraine at Kyiv’s request, after Russian forces began mounting terminals on strike drones, and Ukraine then set up a list of registered terminals. This cap is described differently: Ukrainian officials say it came without warning to the military.
Our take: this is Ukraine’s account, and SpaceX has not confirmed that any limit exists or why. Officials already differ on whether the cap hits Starlink or Starshield and on the speed at which links fail, 100 mph versus about 40. A political motive is a claim, not a finding. Watch for a statement from SpaceX, the result of Ukraine’s review, and whether the cap is lifted. For another side of Starlink’s reach, see our report on Venezuela approving Starlink.
