With more than 10,000 active satellites in Earth’s low orbit, Starlink is able to ping high-speed internet back to almost every corner of the globe, using terminals on the ground that users can easily buy and set up themselves. As Musk said, they have two instructions: “point at sky, plug in”.
This makes them ideal for use on the battlefield.
Tom Whittington, electronic warfare expert and associate fellow at RUSI, told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that the satellite system allows Ukraine to move large amounts of data – like video, text and voice calls – in a similar way that smartphones do but without the infrastructure that phones need.
The speed restrictions “effectively preclude” anything connected to the network going above 100mph, Whittington said, making drone navigation difficult within Ukraine and Russian-occupied territory inside Ukraine.
Serhiy Beskrestnov – Zelensky’s adviser – says he believes the restrictions are not a coincidence and are related to the latest strains between Kyiv and Washington.
US President Donald Trump has criticised Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries and called for a new leader – criticisms which have been echoed by Elon Musk.
Ukraine’s complaint about the restrictions has drawn attention to both Starlink, and Starshield – a military-grade version of the network developed for the Pentagon by SpaceX.
Musk says the two systems are separate, but in many cases they share the same underlying satellite technology.
And in a post on X, Musk suggested the US government could be responsible for the slowdown afflicting Ukrainian usage of the technology.
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government,” he wrote. “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.
“Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.