Ukrainian officials have accused SpaceX of throttling Starlink satellite services, disrupting its ability to carry out military operations and leaving Kyiv vulnerable to deadly attacks.

An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that without warning, services had been limited for terminals travelling over 100mph overnight on Wednesday – effectively limiting Ukraine’s ability to launch drones, which use satellite internet to pilot the craft.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, which operates Starlink and its military version, Starshield, has since claimed on X that the United States government and military control all Starshield speeds.

“Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately [President of the United States],” wrote Musk, a major US defence contractor and former top adviser to US President Donald Trump, after receiving criticism for the disruptions.

The White House has not confirmed or denied Musk’s assertion. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Global News Insight’s request for comment.

Writing on Telegram, Ukrainian defence technology adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said Ukraine was “deprived of one of the few chances to defend itself from Shahed drones”.

He added that frontline logistics and long-distance missions were also disrupted.

Asked about the restriction on the military version of Starlink, Zelenskyy told Piers Morgan Uncensored it was “a big mistake” that “will bring a lot of human losses”.

US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the armed services and foreign relations committees, wrote on X: “These restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starshield must stop immediately. Lives are at stake.

“The Pentagon is also required to notify Congress if it pauses or downgrades intelligence sharing with Ukraine. If that happens, Secretary of War [Pete Hegseth] must provide that immediately.”

The suggestion that Musk’s company had throttled Starlink services drew the ire of Poland, which pays for Ukrainian Starlink subscriptions on Kyiv’s behalf.

“Hey Elon Musk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?” wrote Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister. “As your European customers, we are watching you.”

The “big man” gibe refers to a public dispute on social media between Musk, Sikorski and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio in 2025, when the SpaceX boss told Sikorski to “be quiet, small man” on his X platform.

Starlink is a sensitive topic between Sikorski and Musk. The two previously clashed over the technology after the trillionaire said Ukraine’s “entire frontline could collapse” if he switched off Starlink.

Following the dispute in 2025, Musk said “no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals.”

At the time he added, “We would never do such a thing or use it as a bargaining chip.”

‘Cannot be a coincidence’

The slowdown comes after Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv for the second night in a row, killing at least nine people and damaging electricity and heating infrastructure. Zelenskyy said Ukraine did not receive its usual warnings from Western allies for a second day, without specifying which partners.

Sources have told Reuters and other media that the US has threatened to cut off intelligence for early warning of missile strikes on Ukraine, pressing Kyiv to suspend attacks on Russian oil refineries.

Trump said on Tuesday the US has not stopped sharing intelligence.

Beskrestnov warned that the slowdown “cannot be a coincidence” after Trump struck a deal with President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel – despite international sanctions to isolate Moscow.

Speaking to AFP, another Ukrainian official accused Washington of throttling Starlink and helping Russia.

On Saturday, Trump suggested Zelenskyy had not done enough to end the war with Russia, blaming him for high diesel prices in the US.

Last week, Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel under pressure to curb fuel prices that have soared since the US war with Iran began as the midterms rapidly approach. He told Kyiv to stop attacking Russian refineries and urged Ukrainians to replace Zelenskyy.

“It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side,” Zelenskyy said in the interview with Morgan.

The Ukrainian leader explained he was fine with Trump being in the middle between Ukraine and Russia, but “if you are in the middle, you have to stay in the middle.”