Starlink restrictions may hamper Ukraine's war effort.
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restrictions → hamper → effort
But the country can adapt, experts say
SpaceX has started to interrupt functioning of military-grade terminals, Ukrainian officials say
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officials → adapt → terminals
Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, then-Ukrainian vice-prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov went on what was then known as Twitter to publicly plead with Elon Musk to activate his company SpaceX's Starlink satellites for use in the country.
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what → invade → country
Soon after, Musk posted, "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine.
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service → post → Ukraine
Since then, Starlink and the military-grade version known as Starshield have been integral to Ukraine's war effort against Russia.
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Starlink → know → Russia
Indeed, in February, Musk appeared to acquiesce to a request from Fedorov, who most recently served as Ukraine's defence minister, to block Russia's access to Starlink.
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who → appear → Starlink
But now, according to Ukrainian officials, its military has lost some access to the system.
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military → accord → system
It's not clear why the restrictions have been imposed.
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restrictions → impose → ?
On Wednesday, Musk, in a post on X, said Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government.
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systems → say → government
Any limits would have been ordered by the U.S military and ultimately the president, he said.
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he → order → military
He added that usage of Starlink "is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company."
So far, there has been no response from the U.S. government.
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doing → add → government
But the restrictions come as U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for attacking Russian refineries, which he blames for the high cost of oil.
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he → come → oil
Here's a look at how the Ukrainian military has used Starlink, and what impact these restrictions could have on its capabilities.
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restrictions → use → capabilities
How does Ukraine's military use Starlink?
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military → use → Starlink
Its low Earth orbit satellites around the planet deliver faster connections than traditional counterparts.
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satellites → deliver → counterparts
Starlink gave Ukraine a critical communications advantage early in the war, reshaping how militaries operate on the battlefield.
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militaries → give → battlefield
But Musk has since restricted Starlink for certain military uses, instead developing Starshield, a more secure network, for government and military purposes.
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Musk → restrict → purposes
Ukraine has used the technology for both offensive and defensive operations, with the military using thousands of terminals connected to the system, according to the New York Times.
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military → use → Times
A September 2022 photo shows an antenna of the Starlink satellite-based broadband system donated by Elon Musk, in Izyum, Ukraine.
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photo → show → Izyum
The network is used for long-range drone missions, interceptor air defence systems and front-line logistics, according to a recent social media post from Serhii Beskrestnov, defence tech adviser to Zelenskyy.
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network → use → Zelenskyy
He said the system has been key for Ukraine’s aerial defence and helped intercept the drones that Moscow has unleashed on cities in the country in recent months.
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Moscow → say → months
"It's just an incredibly capable communication system that has proven very valuable to the Ukrainians," said Thomas Withington, a military sciences associate fellow with the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, in an interview with CBC News.
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Withington → prove → News
He said the military has tended to use it primarily for tactical and operational communications.
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military → say → communications
For example, if a deployed unit near the front line needs to communicate back with commanders hundreds of kilometres away, "Starlink provides an excellent way of doing that," Withington said.
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Withington → deploy → that
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He added that Starlink is also beneficial in that its system is very difficult to jam or use electronic warfare against.
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system → make → warfare
Renard Sexton, an associate political science professor at Emory University and managing director of the Empirical Studies of Conflict, said that Starlink was crucial to the Ukrainians' ability to push back against Russia's initial invasion in 2022.
Sexton added that his research has found that in certain moments when Starlink was less accessible, the Ukrainian offence suffered much more than its defence.
What restrictions have been imposed?
Earlier this week, SpaceX started to interrupt the functioning of its military-grade terminals when they are moving at high speed, Ukrainian officials said.
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officials → manage → speed
According to Beskrestnov, the Zelenskyy adviser, that included imposing a speed limit on Starlink terminals mounted on drones.
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that → accord → drones
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that a decision to restrict access to Starlink would have been made by the U.S government and military.
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decision → say → government
The limit has disrupted operations, including making the slower-flying attack drones easier targets for Russian defences, he said.
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he → disrupt → defences
The speed cutoff has also hampered Ukraine's ability to conduct strikes on Russian targets inside Ukraine, Reuters reported.
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Reuters → hamper → Ukraine
By late Wednesday, drone operators were reporting improved data connections, Zelenskyy said.
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Zelenskyy → report → connections
But Fedorov posted on X that removing the speed limit entirely was "now critical for Ukraine’s defence."
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removing → post → defence
How could the restrictions impact Ukraine's military effort?
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restrictions → impact → effort
There could be quite a significant impact on the Ukrainian army's operational level communications and its use of drones, said Withington.
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Withington → say → drones
"Depriving that capability through a stalling deprivation is quite serious," he said.
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he → deprive → deprivation
But the Ukrainians are incredibly innovative, Sexton said, and a restriction that might have hurt them two years ago likely hurts them a lot less now due to their ability to adapt.
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that → say → ability
"They're less likely to be relying fully on that as their only option for a given scenario," he said.
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he → rely → scenario
"So I think there's more redundancy."
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I → think → ?
Withington agreed, saying that while the restriction is a serious inconvenience, the Ukrainians, together with their European allies, would be able to engineer workaround solutions that reduce its severity.
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that → agree → severity
"It can't be done ... tomorrow, but it probably could be done in a matter of months, if not shorter.
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it → do → months
…and 6 more, not listed.
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