What Is Starshield and Who Restricted Ukraine's Access?

Ukraine's military satellite connection Starshield has been restored, a source from Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said, just days after the US was reportedly restricting the service. Reuters, citing a source, reported that Kyiv is still asking SpaceX — Starshield's parent company — to explain why the service was disrupted between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ukraine depends on Starshield, the military-grade version of the Starlink internet service provided by SpaceX, to gather intelligence in its war with Russia. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk denied the company was involved and said only the US government could cause a service disruption, despite President Donald Trump insisting Washington is still sharing intelligence with Kyiv.

What is Starshield?

Starshield is the "sister" service to Starlink — a network of 11,000 satellites that SpaceX has placed in low Earth orbit to provide high-speed internet connectivity even in remote areas. Starshield launched in 2022 and is offered to the US government, designed for military purposes with deeper encryption to handle sensitive information. SpaceX says the service is mainly used by US defence agencies and other "government partners".

Ukraine's military relies on Starshield, particularly to guide drones — a capability the country leans on heavily in its strikes against Russia.

What happened to Ukraine's Starshield access?

On Tuesday, Ukrainian defence officials said they had lost access to critical satellite communications and that the disruption had affected military missions. The development came after intense Russian air strikes involving more than 100 drones and five ballistic missiles, which Ukraine said it received no advance warning of.

"Intelligence about Russian ballistic missile launches saves lives, and this is one of the most urgent issues. This is precisely what helps prevent casualties — when there is early warning of ballistic missiles," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X. "On this attack, unfortunately there was no warning from our partners."

Serhiy Beskrestnov, a defence adviser to Zelenskyy, posted on Telegram that SpaceX had also "imposed a speed limit" on Starlink terminals, capping internet speeds at 100mph (160km/h). That means any drone or missile flying faster than 100mph loses its guidance connection.

"Our armed forces received no warning about these restrictions, and that led to the failure of certain missions," he said, claiming the incident was clearly "linked to the current political situation". Officials said the restrictions also reduced front-line logistics, reconnaissance and signal relay capabilities.

Who controls Starshield?

On Wednesday, Musk denied any involvement, insisting the service is "controlled by the US government". Responding to an X post by former Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who said the speed limits were being lifted and called for unrestricted internet speeds, Musk wrote: "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government."

"Any speed or usage limits are decided by the US military and ultimately the US President," he said. Musk also made clear that Starlink is intended for "civilian or defensive operations and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would not be appropriate for a commercial company" — apparently seeking to distinguish it from Starshield, which Kyiv also deploys but is not permitted to use for offensive operations.

Last year, Starlink cut off access for the Russian military after Russian forces covertly used the service on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Does Musk support Ukraine?

The SpaceX owner has shown an active interest in the Russia-Ukraine war since the conflict began, but has been less than sympathetic to Kyiv. In 2022, shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he proposed a "peace plan" under which Kyiv would renounce its claims to Russian-occupied Crimea and abandon its hopes of joining NATO. Zelenskyy criticised Musk's remarks, and tensions between the two have persisted.

On Sunday, the billionaire — who is also Tesla's CEO and owns X — said Zelenskyy "has gone too far", responding to Trump's comment that the Ukrainian president should leave office. On Wednesday, Musk appeared to blame Zelenskyy for wartime casualties. "And so the slaughter continues," he wrote on X. "It's time for Zelensky to leave."

Is Ukraine blaming the US for restricting intelligence?

Ukrainian officials complained that the country did not receive advance warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Normally, the US provides vital early warning so that Kyiv can order evacuations.

In an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, Zelenskyy said US military officials had previously warned Kyiv that Washington would block intelligence unless strikes on Russian energy infrastructure stopped. The Ukrainian leader added that he did not accept the hypothesis that the Starshield incident could simply be a technical glitch. "It is not a technical issue; it is a matter of will," he said.

Why might the US restrict intelligence to Ukraine?

Tensions between Kyiv and Washington have grown since Trump took office last year over a range of issues, including arms deliveries and the US drawing closer to Russia. In recent weeks, Washington has pressed Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries to push more oil onto global markets. In particular, Trump has sought to blame Ukrainian attacks on Russian diesel facilities for rising fuel prices globally ahead of November's midterm elections.

Last week, Trump said he had reached an agreement with President Vladimir Putin to release Russian diesel onto US and global markets, despite existing sanctions on Russian oil. Zelenskyy criticised the move and said it would strengthen Putin.

Over the weekend, Trump unilaterally declared an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine, apparently without consulting Zelenskyy, who told reporters the deal was "news to me". Russia also did not confirm it. Angered, Trump called for Ukraine to replace its president and blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure for global energy disruptions.

Ukraine says it has in fact held back from attacking Russian refineries and will continue to do so if Russia does the same. However, Russian attacks have continued. On Wednesday, Zelenskyy said strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure had caused power outages affecting 600,000 people. "We're done," the Ukrainian president said in the FT interview, confirming that Kyiv had subsequently resumed strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.