SpaceX limits Starlink use in Ukraine, company president says

Use of space internet to help defend country from Russia deemed to go against terms of service

A Starlink satellite-based broadband system used by Ukrainian servicemen is seen in Bakhmut on 1 February, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Getty Images)

SpaceX has limited the use of its satellite internet service Starlink in Ukraine over concerns the technology had been “weaponised”.

SpaceX president Gwynne Sholtwell said that Ukraine’s military will be unable to use the space-based internet to control drones in the region during the country’s war with Russia.

Starlink, which has provided Ukraine’s military with broadband communications in its defence against Russia’s military, was “never never meant to be weaponized,” Ms Shotwell said during a conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.