EspaceXThe Starlink internet system continues to be limited in Ukraine as the stakes rise for the war-torn country, Ukrainian officials and a national security expert said Friday.
“Every day counts for Ukraine, because every Ukrainian life matters,” Denys Sienik, Ukraine’s deputy ambassador to the United States, wrote in an article published Friday on X.
“Our people are waiting for positive news, hoping that restrictions will be lifted and that our defenders will have the capabilities they need to protect lives,” Sienik said. “Unfortunately, as of today, nothing has changed. We continue to wait.”
Since October 14, Ukrainian officials have accused SpaceX of harming the country’s ability to defend itself by imposing speed limits on Starshield, Starlink’s military offering. Any drone traveling faster than 100 mph lost connection, disrupting some missions, officials said.
Despite President Donald Trump’s recent comments that service had been restored, Ukraine’s Starshield terminals continued to experience problems Friday, said Dmitri Alperovitch, president of the Silverado Policy Accelerator, a Washington, D.C. think tank focused on energy, defense technology and global trade.
“They’re losing drones,” says Alperovitch, also a co-founder and former CTO of a cybersecurity company. Crowd striketold CNBC. “The ability to carry out a mid-height strike to hit Russian logistics is now limited.”
Soldiers of a separate mission rifle battalion of the Ukrainian National Police in the Zaporizhzhia region take a camouflage case on a Starlink satellite communications terminal to be installed at a combat position in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, October 16, 2026.
Dmytro Smolienko | Future publications | Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Friday that restrictions on Starlink and Starshield “are still there,” and added: “The speed has not been restored.” He noted that the country is also waiting for the United States to deliver missile interceptors “which have already been agreed upon.”
“Things have become more difficult – in part because of Starlink and Starshield’s policies and speed limits,” Zelenskyy wrote. “But our front line still holds and I am proud of the strength of our people.”
Zelensky’s technical adviser on defense, Serhii Beskrestnov, also confirmed that the restrictions were in place in a message on his Telegram channel.
“While there are isolated cases where Starlink may operate somewhat beyond established limits, this is likely the result of SpaceX’s algorithms or specific terms of use, rather than an actual removal of restrictions,” Beskrestnov said in a post translated by Google.
Elon Musk and SpaceX representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is not yet clear who is ultimately responsible for the decision to limit the Ukrainian service.
Democratic lawmakers have since called for an investigation into Musk and the limitation of Starshield. A group of bipartisan lawmakers wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday, urging the agency to “move quickly to expand its Starshield agreements and ensure uninterrupted satellite communications support for Ukraine.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Trump spoke by phone with Musk about lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s Starshield terminals. Trump said Thursday that he didn’t “want to comment one way or the other” about whether he called Musk, and added: “At the end of the day, he handed it over.”
But on Friday, Trump insisted he had not spoken with Musk and reiterated that Starshield service had been restored.
“I heard it was fixed,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “But if not, I’ll talk to him.”
Amid the Starshield disruptions, Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have raised the possibility of adopting additional satellite internet communications systems. Experts previously told CNBC that it may prove difficult for Ukraine or other countries to find alternatives to Starlink because other options are not yet comparable to the service.
Zelenskyy wrote in an article on X on Wednesday that he met with Norwegian officials and Kongsberg, a Norwegian defense company, to discuss air defense systems and “starting work on new satellite communications capabilities for our warriors.”
On Thursday, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry signed a letter of intent with Nokia and ICEYE, a Finnish space intelligence company, to “explore cooperation in space” and “support Ukraine’s defense capabilities, particularly in the construction of sovereign satellite communications,” the companies said in a statement.
“Modern warfare has proven that reliable communications are a matter of national security,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “We all need to rely on abilities that we can control.”
— CNBC’s Eamon Javers and Lora Kolodny contributed reporting to this story.
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