Confusion swirls around Starlink restrictions in Ukraine

Confusion swirls around Starlink restrictions in Ukraine

Elon Musk’s Starlink became embroiled in controversy Wednesday after Ukraine’s military faced restricted access to the satellite-based system .

A source familiar with the matter told The Hill that Starlink services were cut off for objects that traveled more than 100 miles an hour, impacting the capabilities of Ukraine’s drones, airplanes and helicopters .

This sparked a barrage of questions and concerns online, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) calling on Musk in a social media post to explain the incident.

The SpaceX and Tesla CEO said Wednesday that decisions to restrict the speed or usage of Starshield , Starlink’s military system, are made by the U.S. military and, ultimately, the president.

It is not clear at this point what caused Ukraine’s military to lose access to the system, which is owned and controlled by the U.S. government.

“Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk wrote in a comment on the social platform X, which he owns.

“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,” Musk said.

By Wednesday afternoon, Ukraine’s defense minister said SpaceX was working to restore satellite speeds.

Check out a full report at TheHill.com .

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