Elon Musk, the main figure behind SpaceX, Tesla, and X, is attempting to set the record straight on Starlink’s use in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Correct. Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be. Starshield, a different system, is controlled by the US government. What they decide to do is up to them. Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week. Starlink remains critical to the defense of Ukraine, as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or blown up, at least for now. Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact. Starlink was also crucial to preventing Russia from overrunning Ukraine in the early days of the war, as all other means of communication were destroyed or jammed by Russia. SpaceX has done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth BY FAR. That said, I have nothing but UTTER CONTEMPT for the virtue-signaling evil warmongers who push for endless slaughter and offer no realistic solution to the conflict. May you burn in hell. End of story.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 24, 2026
Exactly
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 24, 2026
Musk says that the recent throttling of Starlink in Ukraine was due to drone operators misusing the resource to conduct “offensive drone strikes” that struck deep into Russia and targeted their energy infrastructure in a move that violates their terms of service. Musk says a loophole in the system allowed for its misuse, and has now been closed. Ukrainian forces will now have to use Starshield, a separate system controlled by U.S. government officials, to conduct these strikes.
Musk also pushed back on criticism that his company was not doing enough to aid the defense of Ukraine.
“Starlink remains critical to the defense of Ukraine, as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or blown up, at least for now,” he said in a social media post. “Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact.”
“SpaceX has done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth BY FAR,” Musk added. “That said, I have nothing but UTTER CONTEMPT for the virtue-signaling evil warmongers who push for endless slaughter and offer no realistic solution to the conflict.”
The statement follows nearly one week of Ukrainian complaints that American officials and Musk were preventing their ability to carry out drone strikes. It was another development in a growing list of tensions between the U.S. and Ukraine over the four and a half year long war.
President Donald Trump has suggested that a change in Ukrainian leadership may be necessary to bring the war to a close, as Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky’s military forces continue to strike at Russian energy infrastructure despite American demands to cease operations.
At Trump’s request, peace talks between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine could take place as soon as next month.
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