Starlink Restrictions: Why Satellite Internet is So Important for Ukraine

Even on the front lines, there is Internet nowadays. In the underground positions of Ukrainian drone pilots in the death zone, one remains connected to the world. The soldiers transmit drone footage and make video calls via the network. In online map services, they enter enemy positions or their own mines. Even as a visitor you can simply go online. Only about a dozen kilometers from the first Russian positions you can scroll through social media, send messages or make phone calls over the Internet. This is possible thanks to satellite Internet receivers from Starlink. They're white, flat boxes, about the size of a laptop. They are outdoors, oriented towards the sky and receive the Internet signal from satellites in space. Starlink is part of SpaceX, the space company of American tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. Starlink has around 12,000 satellites in space and enables Internet access anywhere in the world. Around twelve million customers worldwide pay once for the recipient and then monthly for the subscription. Ukraine complains of connection problems In Ukraine, Starlink is not only used by the army for data transmission and communication at the front. Satellite Internet receivers are also mounted on large drones attacking targets in the occupied territories. These types of attacks are what Ukrainians call “middle strikes”. The Internet connection allows pilots to control drones from a safe distance. The transmission of the image is hardly delayed, therefore objects that move can also be hit. The drones themselves crash into the target and explode, the receiver in this case acts as a disposable product. Satellite Internet also makes it possible to defend against Russian attacks. To defend against new Russian drones with jet propulsion, interceptor drones with satellite Internet receivers are used. Since last Wednesday, however, Kiev complains of connection problems. At a certain speed of movement of the drones, the Internet connection is cut off. Military bloggers have since reported aborted missions, especially Middle Strikes and interceptor drones are affected. However, communication and data transfer at the front work as usual. Ukrainians see the throttling as part of the American president’s recent U-turn. Since the announcement of a diesel deal with Russia’s ruler Vladimir Putin, he has publicly called on Kiev to make concessions to Russia and stop attacks on refineries. Many Ukrainians responded to the throttling first with criticism of SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Musk refers to the American government but denied his responsibility and highlighted the difference between the satellite Internet services Starlink and Starshield. The throttling would only affect Starshield, a military version of Starlink. He wrote on his platform X that Starshield systems are “property” of the US government and are controlled by it. Restrictions on the Internet connection are decided by the American military and “ultimately” the US president. Starlink, on the other hand, is controlled by SpaceX, but is subject to usage restrictions. The satellite service should only be used for "civilian purposes and defensive activities", not for "offensive military actions", because the latter would be "inappropriate" for a commercial company. Starlink and Starshield are two different but not completely separate satellite services from SpaceX, and both are deployed in Ukraine. Starshield was launched in 2022 as a separate offering. SpaceX describes Starshield as a “secure satellite network designed specifically for government customers and national security applications.” Starshield is based on Starlink technology, but according to the company, it has additional security features that are “tailor-made for military and other government requirements.” Beyond these general statements, SpaceX gives very few details about how Starshield works. For Starshield, Musk’s company is building a separate satellite network, but apparently also relies on his usual Starlink satellites. The main partner for Starshield is the US government, and according to media reports, the Department of Defense has awarded contracts for satellite service in the billions to SpaceX. Ukraine gained access to Starshield in 2024. In Ukraine, Starshield is described as a kind of premium subscription to Starlink, where restrictions are eliminated and the connection is more secure. Until a few days ago, however, a distinction between the services was unusual. Colloquially, there was always talk of Starlink. To this day, no one in the United States takes responsibility for the throttling. Musk’s assertions are opposed to statements by the American government. Foreign Minister Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the “military product Starshield” is currently not available for Ukraine. The Ukrainians would have simply used Starlink for their drones, Rubio added. The American government had nothing to do with a throttling of Starlink speeds, it “just happened”. In addition, the service is functioning fully again. US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that neither he nor Elon Musk had limited the access of Ukrainians. In addition to the contradictory public statements, direct communication with Kiev remained sparse. The Ukrainian chargé d’affaires in the US, Denys Sienik, wrote on platform X on Sunday that an end to the throttling could not be confirmed. Four days after our official requests, we..