Ukrainian officials have accused SpaceX of restricting its Starlink satellite service, hampering military operations and leaving Kyiv more vulnerable to deadly attacks.
According to an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the service was suddenly limited for terminals moving faster than 100 miles per hour (about 160 km/h) on Wednesday night. This effectively curbs Ukraine's ability to launch drones, which rely on satellite internet to control the vehicles.
Writing on Telegram, defense technology adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said Ukraine had been "deprived of one of the few opportunities to defend itself against Shahed drones." He added that frontline logistics and long-range missions had also been disrupted.
The reports that Elon Musk's company had restricted Starlink service sparked angry reactions from Poland, which pays for Ukraine's Starlink subscriptions on Kyiv's behalf.
"Hey Elon Musk, big man, are you playing politics with your product again?" Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote. "As your European customer, we are watching you."
The "big man" jab echoes a 2025 public social media dispute between Musk, Sikorski and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when the SpaceX owner told Sikorski to "be quiet, small man" on X.
The war of words erupted when Musk – a billionaire, former senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump and a key Republican donor in the midterm elections – said Ukraine's "entire front line" could collapse if he turned off Starlink. He later added: "However much I disagree with Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals... We would never do that or use it as a bargaining chip."
'Cannot be a coincidence'
The service restrictions came after Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv for a second consecutive night, killing at least nine people and damaging power and heating infrastructure.
President Zelenskyy said Ukraine had not received the usual warnings from Western allies, though he did not specify which partners. President Trump said the U.S. had not stopped sharing intelligence.
Beskrestnov warned the service restriction "cannot be a coincidence," after Trump reached a deal with President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel despite international sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow.
Speaking to AFP, another Ukrainian official accused Washington of restricting Starlink and helping Russia. On Saturday, Trump said Zelenskyy had not done enough to end the war with Russia, while blaming the Ukrainian leader for high diesel prices in the U.S.
