Zelensky's Adviser: Ukraine Physically Cannot Use Commercial Starlink for Deep Strikes in Russia

Serhiy "Flash" Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine's president on defence technologies, has said Ukraine is physically unable to use the commercial Starlink satellite service for deep strikes into Russia or for medium-range strikes. He was responding to remarks by SpaceX owner Elon Musk, who suggested Ukrainian forces had violated the terms of use. The issue matters because connectivity limits affect Ukraine's drones and logistics at the front.

In a social media post, Beskrestnov said that since winter 2026 all Starlink terminals over Ukraine, including occupied territories, have had a movement speed limit of 70–90 km/h, while Starlink does not operate over Russia at all. He therefore argued the commercial version cannot be used for so-called deep-strike and mid-range strike missions. He also said it was strange that Musk was unaware of the restrictions.

Background

Musk had earlier commented on the access limits, saying Ukrainian troops had allegedly breached the conditions of use. In his view, if Starlink were switched off, the Ukrainian front would collapse instantly. On 21 October, after news of the speed reduction became public, he wrote that any speed or usage restrictions are approved by the US military and ultimately the US president.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk ordered a speed reduction for the military version of Starlink used in Ukraine, leaving some Ukrainian strike drones and interceptor drones practically unusable. On 22 October the paper reported that US President Donald Trump allegedly phoned Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions on the military version.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously said that on various sections of the front, Starlink and Starshield equipment stops working at speeds of 130–161 kilometres per hour, hampering logistics and limiting the use of Ukrainian drones.