Ukrainian soldiers in combat have access to Starlink satellite internet restricted

Starlink Connectivity Limited for Mobile Ukrainian Military Terminals

Ukrainian military personnel reported restrictions on Starlink satellite internet terminals used in combat operations on Tuesday evening. The terminals, supplied and managed by SpaceX, experienced loss of connectivity when traveling at speeds above 100 mph on a military version of the service. Adviser on military technology to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the outage contributed to the failure of several combat missions.

SpaceX did not issue a statement confirming any policy change or the reason for the restrictions. Serhiy Beskrestnov, a military technology specialist and blogger, said Ukrainian forces received no advance notice and described the timing as connected to the current political situation. He noted that static terminals continued to function.

SpaceX has previously stated that Starlink service is not authorized for offensive military operations in certain regions under U.S. export control regulations. This policy has been cited in earlier instances where mobile use was limited. The current restrictions affected terminals in motion but left stationary units operational, according to reports from Ukrainian sources.

The outage coincided with Russian ballistic missile launches against Ukraine on Tuesday evening. Col. Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force, said no advance warning was received from the United States for the initial barrage. Warnings from foreign partners were received for three later barrages. President Donald Trump has stated that intelligence sharing with Ukraine has not been reduced. Zelenskyy told NPR that sharing continued but that U.S. officials had raised the possibility of future limits.

Serhii Sternenko, a political activist with military contacts, reported the initial loss of service and later noted that the speed threshold for disconnection had been lowered further. He attributed the measures to a possible request from the Trump administration while confirming that standard satellite terminals remained available.

Ukraine has used Starlink terminals to support drone navigation for strikes on targets in Russian-occupied areas. The restrictions on high-speed mobile use would affect such operations, though battlefield communications via fixed terminals were reported as unaffected. Missile and drone detection systems rely on separate technologies.

Musk, who has advised the Trump administration, previously directed SpaceX to suspend Starlink service during a Ukrainian offensive that entered Russian territory. No official confirmation from SpaceX linked the latest restrictions to that decision or to current U.S. policy requests.

Trump has called for Ukraine to cease strikes on Russian oil refineries, citing effects on diesel prices. Analysts have attributed larger movements in global energy prices to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Zelenskyy described the Tuesday strikes, which included 39 ballistic missiles and 120 drones targeting energy infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv, as deliberate and large in scale. He said Russia had not previously demonstrated comparable disregard for U.S. statements. At least 600,000 people lost power, with potential for wider outages.

The sequence of events left uncertainty over the exact cause of the Starlink limitations and the status of U.S. intelligence support. Ukrainian officials continue to receive some warnings from foreign partners, while SpaceX maintains its stated export control boundaries on military applications of the service.