In mid-October, Ukrainian officials said access to Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink service, was limited, with speeds reduced without warning. Service was later restored by October 24.
As the pro-Ukraine Center for Strategic and International Studies reported at the start of November, the incident “underscores the risk taken on by nations when they rely on a service provided by a company for national security.”
Putin Speaking at Railway Conference Russia Government Photo.
Putin Back in 2018. Image Credit: Creative Commons
And now, Ukraine is claiming that it happened again, and they think they know why.
Another Disruption
Per NBC News, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Ukraine’s Starshield service has been disrupted again.
This coincides with an American delegation touching down in Moscow Thursday morning for peace talks, which the Ukrainian leader does not believe was a coincidence.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow Thursday and are set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelensky is scheduled to meet with the two American envoys in Dublin this Friday, NBC said.
That shuttle diplomacy followed two days of talks, in which representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian sides met in Abu Dhabi for the first direct talks between the sides in several months.
“These are not random errors but systematic speed restrictions,” Zelensky said in a Telegram post about the latest slowdown. “For us, this primarily means a significant complication in intercepting Russian jet-powered drones,” Zelensky added, saying that some Russian projectiles have gotten through for that reason.
“The speed limit is back at 161 kilometers per hour—that’s 100 miles per hour,” Zelensky added in a speech at the 9th European Political Community Summit in Ireland.
SpaceX, though, has denied the assertion that it slowed the speed.
“This is false. There has been no change,” the company’s media relations department told Ars Technica on Thursday.
Per Ars, Ukrainian officials believe the slowdown during the envoys’ meeting with Russia was not a coincidence.
“Ukraine officials reportedly said today that they believe the limit was reinstated to put pressure on Ukraine in the latest round of peace talks with Russia,” the outlet reported.
“We are trying to get the details from the American side, but so far we know very little,” Zelensky said in the Dublin speech, per Ars.
A Financial Times report on Wednesday also had a Ukrainian official accusing Washington of wanting to help Russia’s hand in the talks.
How Starshield Works
CSIS laid out how Ukraine has utilized Starlink and Starshield since the initial invasion in 2022. The technology has played what CSIS calls a “vital role in connecting Ukrainian civilians to the outside world and in providing tactical communications to Ukrainian forces.”
SpaceX does not allow its service to be used in Russia, which has hurt Ukrainian efforts to strike deep in Russia; in 2022, Elon Musk had denied a request to turn on Starlink service near Crimea, because it would have violated sanctions on Russia.
Starlink is uniquely valuable because it uses small terminals and operates thousands of satellites, and no competitor can match it.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations, Reuters reported, have asked SpaceX to turn Starlink access on or off in war zones.
The Musk Factor
This has complicated matters, because, as CSIS says in its analysis, “Ukraine finds itself dependent on a service provided by a company with a vast global business of which Ukraine is only a small part.”
SpaceX is also led by Musk, an often controversial figure who is heavily involved in financing political campaigns in the U.S.
Two Senators, Sen. Jeanne Sheehan (D-NH) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), called for an investigation by the Department of Defense Inspector General into the sequence of events behind the mid-October slowdown.
However, the I.G. at the Pentagon declined the request, calling it a “contractual matter.”
Both senators are retiring and leaving Congress in January.
But with Democrats taking over both houses of Congress, there is speculation that congressional committees will seek to put Musk under oath and question him on various fronts, including SpaceX’s role in Ukraine, his campaign finance activities, his time at DOGE, and other matters, as part of wider investigations.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has written thousands of articles on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
