Musk says he was behind Starlink speed restriction after service in Ukraine is restored
Musk says he was behind Starlink speed restriction after service in Ukraine is restored
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Elon Musk said on Saturday that his company SpaceX had throttled the Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, disrupting operations that the country relies on to defend itself against Russia.
Musk’s admission on social media came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s access to Starlink and Starshield satellite links has been restored to the speeds it had before restrictions that disrupted front-line operations for more than a week.
Questions have persisted since last week about who ordered the interruptions to the Musk-made satellite internet system that Kyiv has relied on for years to counter Moscow’s attacks.
“The speeds are now where they need to be,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that restoration began overnight and were sufficient by Saturday morning, improving front-line logistics and defense against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.
Musk admits he was behind Starlink’s speed restriction
After Ukraine said the services had been restored, Elon Musk spoke out on the speed restrictions that began last week. In a post Saturday on X, Musk acknowledged that his company SpaceX throttled the Starlink satellite internet service.
“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be,” Musk wrote. “Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.”
But he maintained that the U.S. government controlled whatever changes happened with Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink that is the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communication. He also defended the role of SpaceX in bolstering Ukraine’s defenses since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Restrictions imposed last week on Starshield alarmed the country’s military and government officials, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions.
The restoration follows a new U.S. diplomatic push to end the war. Russia agreed Wednesday to resume three-way negotiations with Washington and Kyiv next month. On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow also agreed to a localized ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump around Oleshky, a war-ravaged, Russian-occupied town in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region.
Restriction led to tensions between Ukraine and the US
The episode added to tensions between Kyiv and Washington, a relationship already strained by President Donald Trump’s reported deal with Moscow on Russian diesel imports, which Ukraine viewed as a betrayal.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara credited “direct dialogue” and Zelenskyy’s diplomacy with Washington, adding that the outcome mattered most “for our front, for the military, the work of drones, logistics and communications.”
Trump has maintained that he didn’t make the call, while also saying Musk should not be blamed. Vice President JD Vance has hinted at White House coordination with Musk, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have denied any administration involvement.
Russia and Ukraine have continued to target each other
Meanwhile, a man was killed and two others wounded in a missile attack on the city of Lozova in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, local officials said Saturday.
Moscow-installed authorities in cities across Russia-occupied Crimea reported power blackouts Saturday following overnight Ukrainian attacks.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Saturday that its forces hit a chemical plant in the Russian city of Tolyatti, which produces materials used in rocket fuel. Tolyatti Mayor Ilya Sukhikh said the overnight attack damaged industrial facilities in the city.
Ukrainian forces also hit an electronics plant in the city of Oryol, Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed Saturday. Local officials in Oryol said Saturday that three people were killed in Friday’s attack. The General Staff said the plant makes components for the cruise and ballistic missiles Russia fires at Ukrainian cities.
Ukrainian drones also reached Russia’s Omsk region in western Siberia, more than 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) from the border with Ukraine. Omsk regional Gov. Vitaly Khotsenko said drones “reached a northern industrial hub.”
Online retailer Ozon said Saturday that its logistics center in Omsk has been attacked by a drone, but there were no casualties. Ozon is a competitor to Wildberries, whose facilities Ukraine has also targeted.
___
Morton reported from London.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Welford Christmas Tree Farm will provide trees for two rooms inside Downing Street.
As the chancellor finalises his first Budget, how are the “squeezed middle” feeling about costs?
Polls opened in Serbia on Sunday in what is set to be its most fiercely contested parliamentary election in more than 14 years, as a student-led movement seeks to oust the party of veteran leader Aleksandar Vucic.Polls in Serbia opened at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and close at 8:00 pm.
oz/al/ljv/sbk
Jo, a mother of three boys, says it is “exhausting” every day to get her sons to go to school.
The Living Roofs aim to boost biodiversity in urban areas, a city council report says.
The inmates make 10 wooden sharing boxes and one is unveiled outside HMP Peterborough.
Charities warn that the PM’s national care service pledge ignores disabled adults aged 18-65.
The live history destination says it could be the last chance to record life after the workhouse shut.
Tony Robinson, 79, says he has had a very eventful career and would “do it all again”.
A wildlife charity founder says it has left her “heartbroken, frustrated and angry”.
The Temple Footbridge over the Thames near Marlow closed in 2023 for safety reasons.
Police have launched a manhunt for the building’s owner and contractor after the multi-storey building collapsed while still under construction.
A new report says nearly half of women with endometriosis have lost income due to the condition.
When Mike Harding, a California transplant, spotted a majestic mansion in Celina, Tennessee, he thought he’d found the dream retirement home for himself and his wife, Julie. But those dreams ended abruptly when Mike suddenly went missing in 2022.
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbians are voting Sunday in a parliamentary election that is seen as a showdown between the Balkan country’s populist leader Aleksandar Vucic and a movement of university students who led protests against him for almost two years.4 million voters get to choose from 18 parties hoping to enter the 250-member Parliament, the election has taken shaped as a referendum between Vucic’s right-wing Serbian Progressive Party and the youth-backed Students’ List.
The move will take funding for the 10-year programme to more than £40bn.
SEOUL, Oct 25 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un returned from a surprise one-day trip to the Chinese border city of Dandong, where he visited a historic Korean War memorial, North Korean state media said on Sunday. Kim visited the city on Saturday and returned by road, crossing a newly opened bridge that connects North Korea to its biggest international backer and trading partner.
Ukraine needs another satellite internet service, but a decent alternative to Elon Musk’s network doesn’t exist – yet.
A shooting near a college stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, left 11 with gunshot wounds Saturday night, officials said.
The Israeli Defense Forces announces restrictions on the movement of Palestinian workers in the run-up to Tuesday’s election.
Powered by WPeMatico