Starshield service for Ukraine's military appears to work normally again
SpaceX's military-grade Starshield internet system for Ukraine's army appears to be working normally after a 10-day period of restrictions. Ukraine's defense minister says no explanation has been received.
Ukraine's armed forces report that Starshield, the military-grade version of U.S. company SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet, appears to be working normally again. This matters because, in the war with Russia, communications determine whether the army can control its drones. TechCrunch reported the news on October 24.
Citing The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch says Ukrainian Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara told reporters that Starshield seems to be functioning normally. However, the military is still running tests and has not received an explanation for the restrictions.
What happened during the restrictions
The restrictions lasted 10 days. During that time, Ukrainian drones lost internet connectivity when flying at around 100 miles per hour (about 160 km/h). As a result, the military lost control of some drones, while others became more vulnerable because they flew more slowly.
Political background
According to the report, U.S. President Donald Trump called SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday and asked him to restore Starshield service. Both Trump and Musk have criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; Musk recently posted: "Zelensky has gone too far."
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Musk ordered SpaceX to throttle Ukraine's Starlink access, although some sources claimed he had discussed it with the Trump administration first. In a post on X, Musk said Ukraine had violated Starlink's terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes. He also said that if Starlink were turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately, calling this not a threat but a statement of fact.
