Elon Musk stated Wednesday that President Donald Trump and the U.S. government hold final authority over any restrictions placed on Ukraine's military-grade Starshield satellite network. Writing on X, Musk said "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."
The statement came after Ukraine accused SpaceX of imposing new restrictions on Starshield without warning. Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on defense technology, said SpaceX had implemented a speed limit on Starlink terminals in motion without notifying Ukrainian defense forces. Those restrictions disrupted military operations, particularly the operation of Ukraine's interceptor drones used against Russian Shahed drones, Beskrestnov said on Telegram.
Musk distinguished between the two networks. Starshield is a military-grade satellite network, while Starlink serves only "civilian or defensive activities," he said.
Some restrictions appear to have been partially lifted. Former Ukrainian defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov thanked Musk early Thursday after Starlink connectivity at speeds up to 160 kilometers per hour was restored. "Removing Starshield's speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine's defense," Fedorov said.
The satellite restrictions emerged amid broader tensions between Kyiv and Washington. Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" between Ukraine and Russia, though Russia has not confirmed the deal. On Monday, Zelenskyy accused Russians of breaching the ceasefire. Trump criticized Ukraine's attacks on Russian energy facilities, attributing rising diesel prices to Kyiv's strikes rather than U.S. conflict with Iran.
Washington has threatened to cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine, according to Reuters reporting Wednesday. Ukrainian officials said they had not received warnings of Russian attacks for two consecutive days before that report.