Musk switched off Starlink during Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast in 2022 – Reuters
Billionaire Elon Musk ordered the shutdown of Starlink satellite internet over part of Kherson Oblast in the autumn of 2022 during a major counteroffensive operation by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Source: Reuters, as reported by Mezha Media, a technology and IT news platform within Ukrainska Pravda's holding company
Details: As stated in a new investigation by Reuters, this decision caused serious communication disruptions on the front and raised concerns about Musk’s growing influence on the course of the war and global security.
Three informed sources told Reuters that Musk instructed a senior engineer at SpaceX – the company operating the Starlink network – to deactivate satellite coverage in the Kherson area, which Ukrainian forces were trying to liberate at the time. On the company’s coverage map, at least a hundred Starlink terminals instantly became "dead zones".
On the front line, Ukrainian units lost communication, drones stopped transmitting video and artillery was unable to adjust fire due to a lack of coordination. A military source said that this led to the failure to encircle Russian troops near the town of Beryslav.
Although the Ukrainian forces eventually liberated Beryslav and Kherson, Musk’s order was the first documented case in which he deliberately limited Starlink access over a combat zone. Some SpaceX employees were shocked, and military officials in the United States and Ukraine were alarmed that he had gained real influence over the course of the war.
Musk publicly denied such actions. In March 2024, he wrote on X (Twitter): "We would never do such a thing". However, Reuters’ sources claim the shutdown decision was linked to Musk’s fear of a potential nuclear escalation by Russia in response to Ukraine’s rapid advance. A former White House official said that some US officials shared Musk’s concerns.
Starlink has been a critically important tool for Ukrainian forces since the very beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The terminals provide stable satellite internet, enabling communication, drone control and artillery coordination. As of April 2025, more than 50,000 terminals have been delivered to Ukraine, funded by SpaceX, the US, Polish and German governments and other partners.
Despite the incident, Starlink is still actively used in Ukraine. However, Ukrainian officials continue to search for alternatives that could complement or replace Starlink should the service become unavailable, a senior government official told Reuters. The Ukrainian government has expressed interest in European satellite systems, such as GOVSATCOM – an EU project aimed at pooling satellite resources of member states and industry to provide services to governments.
Yet in private conversations, some Ukrainian officials note that current alternatives to Starlink have limitations. "It takes time, it takes money," a senior government official told Reuters. With Starlink, he added, "we have a working system".
Musk himself has boasted about Starlink’s importance to Ukraine. "My Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army," he wrote in March on X. "Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off."
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