SpaceX restricts Ukraine's use of Starlink Internet to control drones, Ukrainian Office of President responds

Reuters reported on the situation, citing a statement by Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX.

She claimed that the Starlink satellite Internet, which provided the Ukrainian military with broadband, "was never meant to be weaponized." 

"However, Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement," Gwynne Shotwell said.

Later, the president of SpaceX clarified in a conversation with journalists that she was talking about the use of Starlink Internet by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to control drones.

"There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that," she said, referring to the use of Starlink with drones. "There are things that we can do, and have done."

Gwynne Shotwell noted that the use of Starlink's Internet for UAV control goes beyond the agreement with the Ukrainian government, as the contract was originally intended for humanitarian purposes: providing broadband to hospitals, banks and families affected by the Russian invasion.

"We know the military is using them for comms, and that’s ok. But our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes," she said.

Ukraine’s Office of the President responded to the restrictions on Starlink.

"A year of Ukraine’s resistance and companies have to decide: either they are on the side of Ukraine and the right to freedom, and don’t seek ways to do harm or they are on Russia’s side and its "right" to kill and seize territories,” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the OP, wrote on Twitter.

"SpaceX (Starlink) and Mrs. Shotwell  should choose a specific option," he added.

Earlier, Ukraine agreed with the American company Space Exploration Technologies Corp. to supply more than 10,000 Starlink satellite communication terminals.