The Ukrainian military says the disruption of its use of Starlink satellites is having a significant impact on Kyiv's defenses against Russia's invasion. The slowdown triggered a wave of finger-pointing, much of it focused on the difference between SpaceX's better-known Starlink service for consumers and its Starshield service for government users. The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk ordered the slowdown and discussed the decision in a call with Trump.
What is Starlink?
Starlink is SpaceX's global network of more than 11,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites that beam broadband service to terminals around the world. Starlink customers include rural homeowners, recreational boaters, airlines -- and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. Many civilians use the relatively cheap satellite service to stay online where the country's broadband infrastructure is damaged.
What is Starshield?
Starshield is SpaceX's more secure satellite service for governments. It has two variants: a custom-built satellite network SpaceX launched for the Pentagon; and a lower-tier, military-grade service that connects to commercial Starlink satellites. The more basic service offers encryption features, and allows the equipment to travel at faster speeds than those on a commercial Starlink account.
What service does Ukraine use?
Ukraine is using the more basic Starshield service, which uses Starlink's equipment. Ukraine's weapons -- attack drones, interceptors and uncrewed boats -- need to travel at high speeds to intercept Russian Shahed-type drones, bomb the Russian army's logistics and stall Russia's invasion force. Many of those drone missions are now failing because of the speed limit imposed by SpaceX, according to the Ukrainian military. Ukraine's military also uses Starlink to communicate on the battlefield and to control drones.
Who controls the Starshield accounts that Ukraine is using?
The U.S. government owns the physical Starshield satellite constellation that SpaceX operates, but that isn't the infrastructure that Ukrainian forces are using. Troops there use a kind of "Starshield as a service" -- infrastructure owned and controlled by SpaceX. Some of the Starshield links used in Ukraine were bought with U.S. funds, including through a $138 million contract issued in 2024.
This explanatory article may be periodically updated.
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