For more than a week, Ukrainian soldiers lost something they lean on every day: fast internet from space. Now it is back. Ukraine says its Starlink connection is working normally again, but the slowdown showed how much power one private company can hold in a war.
Starlink is satellite internet from SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company. Thousands of small satellites beam internet down to dishes on the ground, even where there are no cables. Ukraine’s army uses it to talk, plan and fly drones. Starshield is a military version of the same system. During the slowdown, commanders said they lost drones and missions went wrong, the Associated Press reported via PBS NewsHour.
Who flipped the switch is still fuzzy. Musk said on X that SpaceX slowed the service because Ukraine’s military broke the rules by using Starlink for attack drones, AP reported. He also said the U.S. government controls Starshield and decides its limits, ABC News reported. President Trump said he did not order it, and top U.S. officials denied any role.
On Saturday, October 24, President Zelenskyy said speeds were back to where they were before the limits, according to AP. Ukraine’s defense minister gave credit to direct talks with Washington. Earlier, a group of U.S. senators from both parties asked the Pentagon’s watchdog to look into the disruptions, ABC News reported. Even after service came back, Musk still claimed Ukraine had broken its Starlink deal, CNBC reported.
That leaves a hard question. Should one company, run by one person, be able to slow down a country’s army? Some say a business has every right to set rules for how its product is used. Others say internet this important to a war should never hang on one person’s choice.
The lesson reaches past Ukraine: the tech we rely on most is often owned by just a few people.
Sources:
PBS NewsHour (AP): Ukraine’s Starlink satellite speeds restored after a week of front-line disruption
ABC News: Ukraine says Starlink satellite access is fully back after weeklong disruption
CNBC: After SpaceX restores high-speed service, Musk claims Ukraine violated Starlink agreement
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