Ukraine did use Starlink commercially for military operations, despite a ban on Elon Musk's company. The "Atlantic" writes about this in a major investigation based on conversations with more than a dozen American and Ukrainian officials, military and satellite media experts. As journalists have found out, the special military service Star Defense makes up less than 1% of all satellite terminals in the combat zone. Almost the entire Ukrainian military uses conventional commercial Starlink, although the terms of service prohibit its use for military purposes. Precisely in the violation of this ban, Musk previously explained the restrictions imposed on Ukraine. He claimed that the commercial Starlink was never allowed to be used for offensive drone strikes, and now the company has closed the loophole that allowed it to happen. The governments of Poland and Germany have purchased thousands of commercial terminals for Ukraine. "Officially, the assumption is that they will be used for humanitarian purposes. But everyone knew they would go to the army," said the publication's interlocutor, who participated in the negotiations with SpaceX on behalf of Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian official, the use of commercial terminals is much cheaper and makes it possible to quickly increase their number. At the same time, SpaceX for a long time actually turned a blind eye to violations of its own rules. The magazine also found that back in 2022, the use of Starlink for Ukrainian strikes on the Russian military caused discontent within SpaceX. "More and more people felt uncomfortable," said a former company engineer who helped develop the system. According to him, some SpaceX employees even resigned in protest against the military use of the technology. As for the consequences of the October blockades, they led to the cessation of several military operations and the loss of UAVs of the Ukrainian Navy in the Black Sea.