SpaceX has restricted military Starlink operation: disruption of missions reported in Ukraine
On the night of October 14, SpaceX introduced restrictions on the operation of Starlink satellite terminals while moving at high speed. The changes apply to the military StarShield service and have already led to the disruption of a number of operations of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
The information was confirmed by Serhii Beskrestnov, advisor to the President of Ukraine on technological defense development, known by the call sign "Flash".
According to him, SpaceX restricted the operation of terminals of the military StarShield package while moving at speeds over 100 miles per hour, or approximately 160 km/h.
"Our defense forces did not receive a warning about such a restriction, and it led to the disruption of a number of missions", - Beskrestnov reported.
Earlier, volunteer and former advisor to the Minister of Defense Serhiy Sternenko reported problems with satellite communications. He said that on the night of October 14, Starlink terminals began losing connection while moving at speeds over 160 km/h.
According to Sternenko, a number of important military tasks were disrupted due to the outages. At the same time, he clarified that regular satellite communication terminals continue to work.
Thus, so far it is not about a complete shutdown of Starlink in Ukraine, but about restrictions on the operation of the specialized military service under certain conditions of use.
The reasons for SpaceX's decision remain unknown. Beskrestnov believes that the imposed restrictions are related to the current political situation.
Sternenko also suggested that the company could have taken such measures at the request of US President Donald Trump's administration.
However, there is no confirmation that the White House demanded to restrict satellite communications for the Ukrainian military. SpaceX has also not released an official explanation regarding the new restrictions.
Reminder: On October 13, Politico reported about the risk of restricting Starlink operation in Ukraine amid the deteriorating relations between Washington and Kyiv.
Former British diplomat and expert at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Tim Willasey-Wilsey warned that Trump may try to pressure Elon Musk to restrict Ukrainian military access to the satellite network.
Such concerns arose after the conflict between the US and Ukrainian presidents over Washington's deal with Moscow on supplies of Russian diesel fuel and Trump's demand to stop Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Additional concern was caused by Elon Musk's position: on October 10 he publicly supported the criticism of Zelensky by the American president.
Starlink satellite communications are widely used by the Ukrainian Defense Forces to ensure communications, data transmission and operation of unmanned systems. Therefore, any restrictions on its functioning may affect the execution of military tasks.
Sources: Serhiy Sternenko, Serhii Beskrestnov, Starlink