Ukraine's Starlink restored as Elon Musk claims Kyiv violated terms of service 'to kill people'
Elon Musk on Saturday continued to defend Starlink after Ukraine faced more than a week of speed restrictions that disrupted its war effort against Russia, saying SpaceX has done more to defend the country than any other private company "by far," while accusing the country of using the technology in violation of its terms of service "to kill people."
"Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be," Musk wrote on X, claiming that Ukraine had "violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week."
He explained that Starshield is a different system controlled by the U.S. government.
"What they decide to do is up to them."
Elon Musk on Saturday continued to defend Starlink, while accusing Ukraine of violating the company's terms of service "to kill people." (Getty Images, File)
"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 wrote in response to an X post that stated Starlink is "not a weapons system."
"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," he added.
Musk said that Starlink was crucial at the beginning of the war because it was the only means of communication that couldn’t be "destroyed or jammed by Russia.
"SpaceX has done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth BY FAR," he claimed. "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."
Last week, Musk blamed the issue on the U.S. military.
"Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," the SpaceX, Tesla and X CEO wrote in a post.
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Last week, Musk blamed the issue on the U.S. military. (Getty Images, File)
A source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital that Ukraine received no advance warning before the restrictions took effect overnight, despite relying on the service under arrangements contracted through the U.S. government until May 15, 2027.
Ukrainian forces discovered the change after experiencing connectivity problems and contacting SpaceX customer support. They were told Starshield service would be restricted on platforms traveling at speeds of 100 mph or higher, the source said.
Musk did not say whether President Donald Trump, War Secretary Pete Hegseth or another U.S. official personally authorized the new restriction or explain why it was imposed.
Trump told reporters on Saturday that he had spoken to Musk about the issue, but wouldn’t elaborate.
UKRAINE REGAINS CRITICAL STARLINK SERVICE AFTER RESTRICTIONS DISRUPT DRONE OPERATIONS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the U.S. "betrayed" him with the recent Starlink satellite system restrictions. On Saturday, President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Elon Musk about the issue. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine's Ministry of Defense announced Saturday that it had regained broader access to Starlink, with connections remaining stable at speeds of 250 mph.
It remains unclear what led to the slowdown in service, with Ukraine having accused both Trump and Musk of being behind it, and comes after renewed hope for Ukraine and Russia to reach a resolution in the war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Hegseth have denied that the U.S. government was responsible for slowing Ukraine's Starlink service.
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Russia agreed Wednesday to resume three-way negotiations with Washington and Kyiv next month, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told "Fox & Friends" this week he would be open to ending the war by freezing the fighting along the current front lines.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, SpaceX, along with the War and State departments for comment.
Fox News' James Cirrone contributed to this report.
Brie Stimson is a Los Angeles-based entertainment and breaking news writer for Fox News Digital.
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