Volodymyr Zelensky said he feels betrayed by the US after speed limits were placed on the military Starshield terminals in Ukraine. Elon Musk responds that the US military and the US president decide on the limits.
Asked by Piers Morgan on Thursday, October 15, whether Washington’s decision could be called a betrayal, Zelensky answered: “Yes”. He added that “people will die” and that such a step is “not the right side of history”, LBC reports. According to the “Guardian”, the Ukrainian president accused Donald Trump of siding with Russia.
Musk: It's Not Starlink, It's Starshield
On the evening of Wednesday, October 14, Elon Musk replied to a post by Ukrainian official Mykhailo Fedorov. He wrote that Starshield systems are owned by and remain under the control of the US government, and that “any speed or usage limits” are set by the US military and ultimately the president.
Musk also stressed that Starlink is a commercial service of SpaceX, limited to civilian or defense uses. Starlink and Starshield are based on the same technology, but the latter is used by the US military, which has allowed its use in offensive operations as well, LBC reports.
What Is Known About the Effects
We already reported on the restrictions on Wednesday: the Ukrainian president’s adviser spoke of a speed limit imposed without warning and disrupted missions. According to the Indian Outlook, citing reports on the situation, the restrictions were meant to hamper long-range drones and Kyiv’s air defense.
The restrictions coincide with intense Russian attacks. On Tuesday, October 14, Zelensky wrote that overnight Russia used 39 ballistic missiles and over 120 drones against energy infrastructure in Kyiv, the Kyiv region and Kharkiv.
What It Means
The dispute shows that the Ukrainian army’s satellite communications depend on political decisions in the US, not only on Musk’s company. For Poland, which is the main logistics hub for aid to Ukraine, this is an argument in the debate about European alternatives for military communications. The conflict itself does not affect civilian Starlink services in Poland.
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