SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the company closed a “loophole” in its Starlink system that allowed Ukraine to execute lethal drone attacks on civilians, which he said is not in compliance with the system’s terms of service.
Musk posted to X on Saturday in response to a user saying his company’s Starlink satellite communications system is not intended to be used as a weapons system.
“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be,” Musk said. “Starshield, a different system, is controlled by the US government. What they decide to do is up to them. Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.”
Starshield is the military version of Starlink developed under contract with the War Department and used by Ukraine in its war against Russia. Ukraine has experienced speed interruptions over the past 10 days, but the issue was resolved on Saturday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara said.
Musk affirmed his company’s support for Ukraine, but emphasized how important Starlink systems are for the country during its war against Russia.
STARSHIELD SYSTEMS UNLOCKED IN UKRAINE AFTER UPROAR ABOUT MILITARY RESTRICTIONS
“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,” Musk said. “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.”
“Starlink was also crucial to preventing Russia from overrunning Ukraine in the early days of the war, as all other means of communication were destroyed or jammed by Russia,” he continued. “SpaceX has done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth BY FAR. 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.”
During the outages, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had begged SpaceX and President Donald Trump for help, saying the restrictions were placing Kyiv at immense disadvantage in the war. Both Musk and the U.S. government denied responsibility for the debacle.
Zelensky had repeatedly blamed Musk and Trump for the outages to the satellite system, though both rejected his claims, and they followed a public fallout over attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure. Multiple reports had indicated that Musk was behind the restrictions, while others credited Trump with the decision.
HEGSETH POINTS TO STARSHIELD ‘TERMS OF SERVICE’ IN UKRAINE SPEED CAP DISPUTE
As Zelensky pressed the Trump administration and Musk for answers about the Starshield restrictions, War Secretary Pete Hegseth equally denied that the U.S. was behind the decision but noted that a violation of Starlink’s terms of service could lead to consequences.
Hegseth has also caught the ire of Zelensky, as the Ukrainian president has claimed that the war secretary is withholding the delivery of more Patriot interceptor missiles for Ukraine’s air defense system despite NATO already paying for them. Hegseth has remained steadfast that the U.S. position with Ukraine has not changed.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
