Ukraine challenges Musk’s claim that its military used Starlink for drone strikes – CNBC TV18

Ukrainian officials have disputed claims by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk that the country's military violated Starlink's terms of service by using the civilian satellite internet network for offensive drone strikes.

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Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said long-standing restrictions on the civilian system in Ukraine made such offensive use impossible.

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"It's very strange that Elon Musk doesn't know about the restrictions on Starlink's operation in Ukraine," he wrote in an online post.

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SpaceX's Starlink and its military-focused Starshield service are critical to Ukraine's wartime connectivity. Earlier this month, Ukrainian drones connected to Starshield lost connectivity at high speeds, disrupting air defenses during daily Russian air attacks. Officials said the so-called speed caps were lifted on Saturday, and the service was restored.

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Still, questions have persisted about who ordered the interruptions to satellite internet system that Kyiv has relied on for years to counter Moscow's attacks.

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Writing on Telegram, Beskrestnov said that drones operated via the civilian Starlink system had a speed restriction of 70–90 kmh (43-56 mph) within Ukraine and did not work in Russia.

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"Therefore, we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep strikes or medium-range strikes," he said.

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Musk acknowledged on Saturday that SpaceX…

Original source: https://www.cnbctv18.com/technology/

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