Kyiv Adviser: Starlink Limits Make Deep Strikes Into Russia Impossible

Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, adviser to the Ukrainian president on defence technology, said on Saturday night that Ukraine physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep strikes into Russia or for medium-range strikes. He wrote on social media, responding to Elon Musk's claim that Ukraine's military violated Starlink's terms of use.

"It is very strange that Elon Musk does not know about the Starlink restrictions in Ukraine," Beskrestnov wrote.

According to him, since winter 2026 all Starlink terminals over Ukraine, including the occupied territories, have had a speed limit of 70-90 km/h, and Starlink does not work over Russia. "So we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep strikes and mid-range strikes," he said.

What Musk said

Musk, the owner of SpaceX, had earlier commented on the restrictions on Starlink access, saying Ukrainian forces had allegedly broken the terms of use of this kind of communication. In his view, if Starlink were switched off, the Ukrainian front would "instantly collapse." On 21 October, after news of the speed reduction became public, Musk wrote that any limits on speed or use are accepted by the US military and ultimately by the US president.

How the dispute developed

The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk ordered the speed of the military version of Starlink for Ukraine to be lowered, which made some Ukrainian strike drones and interceptor drones practically unusable. On 22 October the paper learned that Trump had reportedly called Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Starlink and Starshield equipment on some sections of the front stopped working at speeds of 130-161 km/h, which slowed logistics and limited the use of Ukrainian drones.

As we reported, Zelensky confirmed that the restrictions on Starlink and Starshield were lifted on the morning of 24 October. More on the war in our World section.