Policy / Civilization & Discontents

SpaceX says it blocked Ukraine from using Starlink with military drones

Shotwell: Ukraine's "offensive" use of Starlink "not part of any agreement."

by Jon Brodkin - Feb 10, 2023 10:59am MST

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A Starlink terminal used by Ukrainian servicemen in Bakhmut on February 1, 2023.
Getty Images | Yasuyoshi Chiba

"SpaceX took steps to prevent Ukraine's military from using Starlink satellite Internet with drones because the service was never intended to be "weaponized," SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell said at an FAA space transportation conference Wednesday.

"Using Starlink with drones went beyond the scope of an agreement SpaceX has with the Ukrainian government, Shotwell said, adding that the contract was intended for humanitarian purposes such as providing broadband Internet to hospitals, banks, and families affected by Russia's invasion," Reuters reported

Shotwell said, "We were really pleased to be able to provide Ukraine connectivity and help them in their fight for freedom. It was never intended to be weaponized. However, Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement," according to the Associated Press.

Starlink's terms of service specifically address this, saying it is "not designed or intended for use with or in offensive or defensive weaponry or other comparable end-uses." SpaceX knows "the military is using them for comms, and that's OK," Shotwell reportedly said. "But our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes."

Shotwell declined to say exactly how SpaceX prevented Ukraine from using Starlink with drones. "There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that... there are things that we can do and have done," she said, according to Reuters.

Ukraine officials express anger, puzzlement

SpaceX came to Ukraine's aid after Russia invaded the country in February 2022. Reports in March said Starlink broadband connections helped the Ukraine military's elite drone unit target and destroy Russian tanks and other "priority targets."

✓ Shotwell's comments expanded on a recent statement by SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk. In a tweet on January 31, Musk wrote that "SpaceX Starlink has become the connectivity backbone of Ukraine all the way up to the front lines... However, we are not allowing Starlink to be used for long-range drone strikes." Musk's comment came after a TV host on a Russian state-controlled channel called Musk "a war criminal."

After Shotwell's comments, a Ukraine official criticized SpaceX for restricting Starlink's use by the military. Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote in a tweet yesterday that companies are either on the side of Ukraine and "the right to freedom and don't seek ways to do harm" or on the side of Russia "and its 'right' to kill and seize territories. SpaceX (Starlink) and Mrs. Shotwell should choose a specific option."

One "Ukrainian military official called Shotwell's statements 'strange' given the well-established fact of the country's use of Starlink as a combat tool," the AP wrote.

Starlink has been useful to Ukraine in multiple ways, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, said in a statement quoted by news outlets. There are "no problems with the operation of Starlink uplink terminals in Ukraine," and Musk is "one of the biggest private donors of our future victory," he said.

"Starlinks help save thousands of lives daily," Fedorov also said. "The energy infrastructure continues to work due to Starlinks. Doctors perform complex surgeries thanks to the connection that Starlinks provide."

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"Starlink has been a vital piece of communications infrastructure for Ukraine throughout the conflict, which began when Russia invaded the nation on Feb. 24 of last year. Service beamed down from orbit is tougher for an adversary to knock out than coverage provided by ground-bound towers, after all.

✓ SpaceX has balked at some Ukrainian uses of Starlink, according to Reuters. Specifically, the outlet reported on Wednesday (opens in new tab) (Feb. 8), Elon Musk's company doesn't want the Ukrainian military using the service to control its battlefield drones, which conduct a variety of operations from scouting to dropping bombs.

Starlink service was "never, never meant to be weaponized," SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell said Wednesday during the 25th annual Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington, D.C., according to Reuters.

"However, Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement," she added.

Control of battlefield drones is one such verboten application, in SpaceX's eyes; Shotwell mentioned this use at the conference, Reuters reported, and it's clear that the company's higher-ups are not okay with it.

"There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that," Shotwell said. "There are things that we can do, and have done."

She didn't provide any details about those measures, Reuters reported. You can read the whole story here (opens in new tab).

Musk said last fall that there are about 25,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine. Deploying and operating all of them has proven challenging, however, given the logistical and economic hurdles facing the besieged nation. Last fall, for example, 1,300 Starlink terminals used by the Ukrainian military went dark for two weeks due to a funding shortfall.

SpaceX began subsidizing Starlink service in Ukraine just after the invasion began, a practice that ended up costing the company about $20 million per month, according to Musk. In September, SpaceX asked the U.S. military to help defray those costs, according to CNN.

"Negotiations are very much underway. Everyone in our building knows we're going to pay them," a Pentagon official told CNN last fall (opens in new tab).

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There (opens in new tab)" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).

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Ukrainian Official Cries Foul Over SpaceX Executive's Comments On Curbing Starlink Internet Service - Radio Free Europe

www.rferl.org › ukraine-starlink-spacex-...

14 hours ago · SpaceX has come under fire from a Ukrainian official for comments by a company executive who said steps had been taken to curb the Starlink ...