Tech billionaire Elon Musk is switching off Starlink systems on Russian killer drones after learning Moscow hijacked his satellite technology to strike Ukrainian cities, Kyiv’s defense minister said Thursday.
“Within hours of reports that Russian drones equipped with Starlink connectivity were operating over Ukrainian cities, the Ministry of Defense team promptly contacted @SpaceX and proposed concrete ways to resolve the issue,” Minister Mikhailo Fedorov wrote in a post to X.
Fedorov praised SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell and Musk personally for what he called a rapid, decisive response.
The defense minister also pointed out that “Musk’s decision to urgently activate Starlink and send the first batch of terminals to Ukraine” after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 “was critical to the resilience of our state.”
Russian forces for weeks have increasingly been using Starlink “to extend the range of BM-35 strike drones to conduct mid-range strikes against the Ukrainian rear,” according to the Institute of the Study of War.
That usage is banned by SpaceX, which allows militaries to use the technology — but not for offensive purposes, Musk said in an X post.
“Note, Starlink terminals can be used for defense infrastructure communications, schools, hospitals, personal, etc, but terms of service do not allow for offensive military use, as it is a civilian commercial system,” he wrote.
On Tuesday, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radosław Sikorski called on Musk to “stop the Russians from using Starlinks to target Ukrainian cities” in an X post.
“Making money on war crimes may damage your brand,” Sikorski warned.
Musk fired back, pointing out Starlink’s contributions to Ukraine’s military communications capabilities.
“This drooling imbecile doesn’t even realize that Starlink is the backbone of Ukraine military communications,” he said of the deputy prime minister in a post to X.
