Ukraine is physically unable to use commercial Starlink for strikes deep into Russia, – Flash on Musk’s accusations
Presidential adviser Serhii (Flash) Beskrestnov has stated that Ukraine is physically unable to use commercial Starlink terminals for strikes deep into the Russian Federation or for medium-range strikes.
He wrote this on social media whilst commenting on a statement by SpaceX owner Elon Musk regarding restrictions on access to Starlink, reports Censor.NET.
"It is physically impossible"
"It is very strange that Elon Musk is unaware of the restrictions on Starlink’s operation in Ukraine," Beskrestnov noted.
According to him, from February 2026, all Starlink terminals over Ukrainian territory, including the occupied territories, will have a speed limit of 70–90 km/h, whilst Starlink does not operate over Russian territory.
"Consequently, we are physically unable to use commercial Starlink for deep-strike and medium-range strikes," emphasised Flash.
What led up to this
The day before, American billionaire and SpaceX founder Elon Musk claimed that the Ukrainian military had allegedly breached the terms of use for Starlink terminals by using them for "offensive drone strikes". According to him, "this loophole was closed last week".
Restrictions on Starlink’s operation in Ukraine
- On 14 October, volunteer and former adviser to the Minister of Defence Serhiy Sternenko stated that SpaceX had restricted the operation of Starlink terminals for the Ukrainian military during the night. As a result, he said, "several important missions were disrupted". The restrictions were imposed on data transmission depending on the speed of the UAVs using Starlink.
- This information was subsequently confirmed by Serhiy Beskrestnov (Flash). According to him, the restrictions may also complicate the use of drones designed to intercept jet-powered ‘shahids’.
- Units of the 7th Airborne Corps also reported that they began to experience problems with Starlink connectivity in the Huliaipole sector last night. This concerns the Starshield package – the so-called military package, which previously had no data transmission speed restrictions.
- Later, former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated that network operations were being restored at speeds of up to 160 km/h.
- Meanwhile, Elon Musk stated that he does not set the limits for Starshield, which Ukraine uses. This system is controlled by the US government, not SpaceX.
- According to Reuters, the order to restrict Starshield for Ukraine came from the White House.
- On 16 October, US President Trump stated that Washington was not involved in slowing down the ‘military package’ of the Starlink (Starshield) satellite communications system for the Ukrainian military.
- On 19 October, Zelenskyy reported that in various sectors of the front line, Ukrainian military equipment fitted with the Starlink system ceased to function at speeds of 130–161 kilometres per hour.
- Hegset stated that the Pentagon had not issued any orders to restrict Starshield.
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Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had telephoned Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions on the military version of Starlink in Ukraine, whilst on Thursday Trump said that "the main thing is that he’s put everything back the way it was" and declined to comment on whether he had telephoned Musk.
- On 22 October, Trump declined to say whether he had telephoned SpaceX owner Elon Musk regarding the speed restrictions on the military version of Starlink in Ukraine.
- According to Politico, as of the morning of Friday 23 October, the Ukrainian military were still facing Starlink speed restrictions, despite Trump’s announcement that the services had resumed full operation.
- 24 October The
Ukrainian Ministry of Defence stated that Starlink terminals and their military variants, StarShield, from SpaceX were once again operating at speeds exceeding 161 km/h.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also confirmed the resumption of Starlink services for Ukraine.
