Ukrainian officials and military personnel reported that SpaceX restricted the speed of Starlink satellite internet services across Ukraine starting in mid-October 2026. The technical limitations coincided with a Russian drone strike on Oct. 19 in Kharkiv that killed five people, including a 1-year-old girl. According to photographs obtained by CBS News, ground-based air defense radars experienced connectivity drops to .1 megabytes per second on the day of the attack, a level a source familiar with the technology described as insufficient to power radar systems.
Elon Musk confirmed the speed restrictions in a post on X, formerly Twitter, stating that SpaceX had closed a "loophole" after the Ukrainian military used the commercial service for offensive drone strikes, which he said violated the terms of service. Ukrainian officials stated the restrictions were imposed without advance notice and affected ground-based air defense radars and drone interceptors. Vadym Ivchenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament's National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee, said that while other systems remained functional, the satellite connection is an essential part of the infrastructure used to protect civilians.
On the front lines, Ukrainian drone commanders reported operational impacts. A commander identified by the call sign Flint, serving on the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, said a drone lost connection and crashed on Tuesday, Oct. 20, as its speed was being limited. Another pilot in the Kharkiv region, identified as Dovbush, said the connection drops when vehicles travel at high speeds. While President Donald Trump said on Thursday, Oct. 22, that Musk had restored the service, Ukrainian officials in Kyiv stated on Friday, Oct. 23, that they had not yet seen the restrictions lifted.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Saturday, Oct. 24, that Starlink speeds had been restored across the country. While Musk stated that the U.S. government controls changes to the military-grade Starshield network, the White House referred inquiries to President Trump’s recent comments, in which he stated he did not order the restrictions. As of late October 2026, the Ukrainian government was reportedly negotiating with neighboring Poland and Slovakia to relocate customs controls following Russian strikes on border crossings.