Ukraine hails 'real results' after Musk restricts Russian Starlink use

Elon Musk's efforts to stop Russia from using Starlink satellites for drone attacks have "delivered real results", a Ukrainian official said.

Praising the SpaceX founder as "a true champion of freedom and a true friend of the Ukrainian people", defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Musk had swiftly responded when he was told Russian drones with Starlink connectivity were operating in the country.

"Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorised use of Starlink by Russia have worked," Musk wrote on X. "Let us know if more needs to be done."

The Russian drones are difficult to shoot down, Fedorov said, as they fly at low altitudes, cannot be countered with electronic warfare, and are controlled by operators in real time from a distance.

The Institute for the Study of War warned in mid-January that since Russia had begun equipping the cheap kamikaze Molniya-2 drones with Starlink, their battlefield efficiency had increased "dramatically".

While neither Fedorov nor Musk elaborated on what the response had been, the defence ministry's official website ArmiyaInform reported that SpaceX had introduced a speed limit of 75kph on Starlink terminals moving over Ukraine.

"Russian drones move much more quickly, so the enemy operators will not be able to control them in real time," the website said.

On Monday Fedorov said the Ukrainian government was also preparing to implement a white list of approved Starlink satellite terminals which could operate in Ukraine. All unregistered terminals will be disconnected, Fedorov said.

"We are implementing this in cooperation with SpaceX," Fedorov stated, adding that instructions on registering the terminals would be forthcoming.

Russian war bloggers warned the implications could go beyond drones, as the Russian military uses Starlink to provide the front line with internet.

Fedorov - then deputy prime minister - asked for Musk's help soon after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. By the end of the day Musk said Starlink had been enabled in Ukraine and promised more satellite dishes.

But shortly after supplying Ukraine with Starlink, Musk's relationship with Kyiv became turbulent.

Later in 2022 he denied the Ukrainian military access to Starlink in Crimea, where Russia has been stationing military equipment since illegally annexing in 2014.

At the time, Musk justified the decision by saying that Ukraine would have used Starlink access to "sink most of the Russian fleet", making SpaceX "complicit in a major act of war".

Musk has since repeatedly criticised Western countries for providing Ukraine with funding and weaponry. "It is insane to keep sending so much money to Ukraine with no accountability and no end game," he said.

However, he has also stated that "no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals."

"My Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off," Musk said in March.

Despite these tensions, Fedorov last week again praised Musk's timely decision to provide his country with access at the start of the full-scale invasion, saying Starlink had been "critically important for the stability of our state".

The 35-year-old former digital transformation minister was appointed to head the ministry of defence by President Volodymyr Zelensky last month.

Fedorov favours a data-driven strategy and advanced cyber-warfare. He has also vowed to work closely with Silicon Valley companies, arguing that integrating partners would make Ukraine's defence system stronger.

Additional reporting by BBC Monitoring