Musk said that the Ukrainian military bypassed Starlink restrictions to control the UAVs. SpaceX closed the possibility of using Starlink satellite internet for Ukrainian UAV attack operations. This was said by the head of the company, Elon Musk, who claimed that the armed forces of Ukraine used the system to hit people, bypassing the established rules. According to the developer, the identified loophole was eliminated last week. At the same time, he emphasized that Starlink continues to play an important role in the defense of Ukraine, and its shutdown, according to Musk, will severely affect the position of the Ukrainian forces. The Star Shield military system, he added, is controlled by the US government. Kyiv denied the allegations. The former adviser to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Sergey Strenenko, said that the use of conventional Starlink terminals on moving attack drones is technically impossible: to operate on the move, the equipment should be registered in a special list and connected to the Star Shield military system. The adviser to the Ukrainian leadership, Sergei Baskarstanov, also claimed that commercial terminals are limited in speed of movement, and do not operate on the territory of Russia. The publication Strana.ua noted that Musk's statement contradicted earlier reports about the restoration of normal operation of satellite communications for Ukrainian drones. Starlink has been used on medium-range UAVs, including for real-time video transmission and course correction during the last phase of flight. After restrictions were introduced in February 2026, terminals for installation on UAVs had to go through a separate registration and get permission to operate in fast mode.

Musk said that the Ukrainian military bypassed Starlink restrictions to control the UAVs. SpaceX closed the possibility of using Starlink satellite internet for Ukrainian UAV attack operations. This was said by the head of the company, Elon Musk, who claimed that the armed forces of Ukraine used the system to hit people, bypassing the established rules. According to the developer, the identified loophole was eliminated last week. At the same time, he emphasized that Starlink continues to play an important role in the defense of Ukraine, and its shutdown, according to Musk, will severely affect the position of the Ukrainian forces. The Star Shield military system, he added, is controlled by the US government. Kyiv denied the allegations. The former adviser to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Sergey Strenenko, said that the use of conventional Starlink terminals on moving attack drones is technically impossible: to operate on the move, the equipment should be registered in a special list and connected to the Star Shield military system. The adviser to the Ukrainian leadership, Sergei Baskarstanov, also claimed that commercial terminals are limited in speed of movement, and do not operate on the territory of Russia. The publication Strana.ua noted that Musk's statement contradicted earlier reports about the restoration of normal operation of satellite communications for Ukrainian drones. Starlink has been used on medium-range UAVs, including for real-time video transmission and course correction during the last phase of flight. After restrictions were introduced in February 2026, terminals for installation on UAVs had to go through a separate registration and get permission to operate in fast mode.