After Ukraine said its access to Elon Musk's constellation of satellites orbiting close to the Earth was restricted—hampering its ability to fight Russia—questions swirled about who would be able to put these limits in place and take Kyiv by surprise.
Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday the military version of Musk's Starlink satellite communications network, made by Musk's SpaceX firm but overseen by the U.S. government, was restricted on systems operating at speeds above 100 miles per hour.
The episode raised a central question: who has the authority to restrict Ukraine's access to Starshield, and under what circumstances?"
Top officials said the curb quickly wreaked havoc with Ukrainian drone operations and air defenses around the Ukrainian capital amid Russian attacks, including with Moscow's new jet-powered explosive drones.
Kyiv was caught off-guard by the sudden changes to the Starshield system, officials said, further fueling concerns about the U.S. support for Ukraine against Russia ahead of what is expected to be another punishing winter for Ukraine's residents.
The restrictions attracted particular scrutiny because they came as the U.S. pressures Ukraine to halt its punishing campaign of drone assaults on Russian oil refineries, which have contributed to surging diesel costs and dented Russia's export-reliant economy.
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Who Controls Starshield?
Ukraine's former defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said Ukraine's ability to use Starshield, the military version of Starlink, at higher speeds was "being restored." Starshield was once again working as normal on Thursday, Ukraine's Ukrinform state news agency reported, citing sources in the country's defense ministry.
In a message directed at Musk, Fedorov added, "thank you."
But Musk, responding to Fedorov, said Starshield systems are "owned and controlled" by the U.S. government, meaning "any limits on speed or usage" are dictated by the U.S. military, and, ultimately, the U.S. president.
The White House hasn't publicly commented. President Donald Trump's administration planned to reach out to SpaceX to work out what happened with Ukraine's access, an unnamed source told Axios. Two anonymous sources told the outlet the White House did not have control over SpaceX.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine's Starlink access was "blocked by SpaceX and the United States."
"I am sure they knew what they did, absolutely," Zelensky said during a visit to the U.K. on Wednesday.
US Intelligence Sharing With Ukraine
Zelensky also said on Tuesday that Ukraine wasn't alerted by its allies before Russian missile attacks for the second day in a row, raising fears the U.S. may have choked off Kyiv's access to intelligence.
Ukraine's systems "detected these missiles only when they were already virtually on approach to Kyiv," Zelensky said.
Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. was still sharing intelligence with Kyiv, but Ukrainian officials who still remember the U.S. briefly severing its access to American-derived intelligence in early 2025 will likely be wary.
Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday the Pentagon is obliged to tell Congress if the Department of Defense pauses or reduces its intelligence-sharing with Kyiv.
"These restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starshield must stop immediately," Shaheen added.
"At best, this was an unacceptable error or lapse, and at worst a [conscious] decision to clear the field for a Russian attack," Republican Senator Thom Tillis said in a social media statement.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said on Wednesday that reduced Starlink access will hurt Ukraine's ability to intercept Russia's jet-powered Shahed drones before they hit targets like the Ukrainian capital.
Russia launched 580 drones, including Shaheds, across the country overnight, Ukraine's air force said early on Thursday. Five people were killed in the central Kirovohrad and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to emergency services.
There were "constant waves" of Shahed attacks on Wednesday and Thursday, Zelensky said in a statement posted to social media. "Our sky was not clear of them for a single hour."
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What Is Starshield?
Starshield is the military-grade version of Starlink, used by the U.S. government and its military personnel. Starlink is available to civilian buyers and the everyday consumer, and falls under SpaceX's remit.
Musk says Starlink cannot be used to carry out offensive military strikes.
SpaceX says Starshield uses Starlink "to support national security efforts," but it's not clear how intertwined the two services are in reality. Starshield uses more layers of encryption to meet "the most demanding government requirements," according to SpaceX.
The Fuel Angle
Trump has argued that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities contributed to rising diesel prices. Critics have pointed instead to disruption linked to the conflict with Iran and its effect on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said on Saturday he had told Zelensky to stop striking Russian oil refineries as Republicans stare down the midterm elections, and bills at the pump for many U.S. consumers remain high.
"Zelensky has gone too far," Musk said in a post to X on Saturday.
Persistent Ukrainian drone strikes in recent months have targeted Russian oil and gas sites in the hope of cutting off oil revenue used to fund the Kremlin's war effort.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukraine's drone attacks on oil refineries have cost Moscow roughly 1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).
Moscow, in turn, has carried out its own attacks on Ukraine's power plants, grain-exporting southern ports and factories in a bid to cripple Kyiv's economy.
Zelensky said on Wednesday Russian drones and hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles had targeted Ukraine's energy sector around the capital and in the northeastern Kharkiv region, despite Trump declaring an "energy ceasefire" at the weekend.
Ukraine didn't carry out any confirmed strikes on Russian oil refineries between Friday and Wednesday, but Russian authorities said on Thursday an oil facility had come under attack in a suspected Ukrainian operation.
Hours earlier, Zelensky said Kyiv was "done" with holding off on its attacks.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Tony Phillips.