Musk admits SpaceX restricted Ukraine's Starlink: "That loophole was closed"

Allison Robbert/Pool via AP Elon Musk admitted in a Saturday X post that his company, SpaceX, intentionally restricted Ukraine's internet access because President Volodymyr Zelensky was using it "to kill people" in its war with Russia. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that Musk “capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite-based network,” making defense drone usage all but impossible. President Donald Trump initially denied knowing who ordered the slowdown, saying, "I don't know who did it, but I was not involved." On Wednesday, however, Trump reportedly called Musk and pressed him to remove the restrictions. Musk ended any and all speculation Saturday, writing, "Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be. Starshield, a different system, is controlled by the US government. What they decide to do is up to them." https://www.twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2114063986744275011 Musk continued: Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week. Starlink remains critical to the defense of Ukraine, as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or blown up, at least for now. Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact. Starlink was also crucial to preventing Russia from overrunning Ukraine in the early days of the war, as all other means of communication were destroyed or jammed by Russia. SpaceX has done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth BY FAR. That said, I have nothing but UTTER CONTEMPT for the virtue-signaling evil warmongers who push for endless slaughter and offer no realistic solution to the conflict. May you burn in hell. End of story. Zelensky confirmed Saturday that access was back up to speed. “The most important thing today is that Starlink and Starshield operations have been restored to the speeds we had before the restrictions. The speeds are now where they need to be,” Zelensky wrote on X. "The restoration began overnight, and by this morning, speeds were already sufficient. This matters: for our frontline logistics, for defending Ukraine against jet-powered 'shaheds,'" Zelensky wrote. "I thank all Americans and all our partners who took this seriously and truly helped – members of Congress, senators, all the media, the State Department, and the President. Protecting lives matters."