Musk says Ukraine used Starlink for offensive strikes; Kyiv calls that "technically impossible"

RT headlines Musk's accusation as a statement of fact. BBC, Novaya Gazeta Europe and Meduza report it as his claim, and Meduza adds the Ukrainian military's reply.

By Verification deskDrafted with AI, checked and edited by the editor.

A Starlink terminal in Ukraine.Photo: Credit: Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images

What Russian state media says

UnverifiedRT: Kyiv abused Starlink "to kill"; the headline attributes this to Musk, and the text says the Ukrainian military abused the civilian network.RT
UnverifiedRT: SpaceX has closed a "loophole" that allowed the Ukrainian military to abuse the network, as Musk announced.RT

What is documented

BBC, Novaya Gazeta Europe and Meduza report that Musk accused Ukraine of violating Starlink's terms of use. Novaya Gazeta Europe adds that, in his words, the service was used for offensive drone strikes and the "loophole" was closed last week.BBC News · Новая газета Европа · Медуза
According to Meduza, the Ukrainian military replied that using Starlink for offensive strikes is "technically impossible". Ukrinform, an official source, reports a response from "Flash".Медуза · Ukrinform

Elon Musk accused Ukraine’s military of breaking the terms of use of the Starlink satellite network. BBC, Novaya Gazeta Europe and Meduza all report the accusation. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Musk said the civilian commercial service was never allowed to be used for offensive drone strikes, and that the “loophole” was closed last week.

RT headlines the story “Kiev abused Starlink to kill” and writes that SpaceX closed a “loophole” that let the Ukrainian military abuse the network. The short RT item in this batch does not include Kyiv’s reply. None of the independent items confirms that such strikes took place. The accusation rests on Musk’s own statement.

According to Meduza, the Ukrainian military replied that this is “technically impossible”. Ukrinform, an official Ukrainian source, also published a response from “Flash” to Musk’s statement. The batch does not say how the Ukrainian side justifies its position.

The BBC reports that Musk said SpaceX had restricted Ukraine’s Starlink connection and that service was restored. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Musk separately mentioned Starshield, a military system whose operation is decided by the US government. Only one independent outlet reports each of these two points.

Where accounts differMusk says Ukraine used Starlink for offensive drone strikes. The Ukrainian military says that is technically impossible. No item in the batch gives independent evidence either way, so the question stays open. RT presents Musk's version without Kyiv's reply.