Musk reposts claim that helping Ukraine with Starlink was a mistake

Elon Musk reposted, without comment, a post on social media saying that providing Ukraine with Starlink satellite internet was a mistake on SpaceX's part. The repost later disappeared from his account, the Unian agency reports. Ukrainian experts, meanwhile, reject the post's main claim: Starlink terminals are not used on strike drones.

What the post says

“In hindsight, this was a mistake on SpaceX's part. What began as internet access for civilians became the backbone of autonomous combat drones. And now, if the company doesn't support using this technology for military purposes, it faces harsh criticism in the press,” the post reads. According to Unian, it was reshared by Musk.

How it all began

At the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022, following a public appeal from the Ukrainian government, Musk and his company SpaceX gave Ukraine access to Starlink. The first terminals arrived as early as February 28. In the first months, the company supplied about 20,000 kits, some of which it paid for itself. According to Musk, SpaceX spent roughly $20 million a month operating and maintaining the terminals in Ukraine.

At the time, the emphasis was on humanitarian needs and on using the kits for critical infrastructure, government agencies and hospitals. However, as Unian points out, no one hid the fact that the terminals also came to be used for military purposes.

What Ukrainian experts say

Since 2023, the purchase of Starlink terminals for Ukraine has been funded mainly by the governments of the United States and Poland.

Musk's claims that Starlink is used on strike drones are refuted by Ukrainian specialists: because of technical limitations, it is simply impossible. The drones are equipped with Starshield military systems.

“As someone who was involved in this process at the Ministry of Defense, I can say with confidence that this is not true,” said Serhiy Sternenko, a former adviser to Ukraine's defense minister. According to him, it is technically impossible to use the civilian Starlink system for drone missions: all drone missions requiring satellite communications could only be carried out with Starshield.

Ukraine's contract with the US government satellite system Starshield expires next year.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz