the crucial stages of Ukraine’s 2022 counteroffensive against Russian forces, a pivotal decision by Elon Musk temporarily disrupted the battlefield momentum and raised doubts within Kyiv’s leadership about the reliability of Starlink—the satellite internet service that had become vital to Ukraine’s military operations.
Sources familiar with the incident revealed that Musk directed a senior engineer at SpaceX’s California headquarters to deactivate Starlink service in certain regions, including Kherson, a strategically important city near the Black Sea. This order came just as Ukrainian forces were pushing to reclaim Russian-occupied territory.
“We have to do this,” said Michael Nicolls, a Starlink engineer, upon receiving Musk’s directive, according to one insider. The team complied, disabling service to over a hundred Starlink terminals, rendering them inactive across a digital company map. The blackout extended beyond Kherson, impacting other occupied regions like parts of Donetsk.
The sudden disruption left Ukrainian troops near the front line without communication, according to military sources. Soldiers lost contact, drone surveillance ceased, and artillery units struggled to strike accurately due to a lack of coordination. One Ukrainian military official and a defense advisor confirmed that this technical blackout derailed their operation to encircle Russian forces in Beryslav, a town in the Kherson region. “The encirclement stalled entirely,” the official said. “It failed.”
Though Ukraine eventually succeeded in liberating Kherson and surrounding areas, this episode marked the first known instance of Musk actively terminating Starlink’s service in a combat zone. “He took the outcome of a war into his own hands,” one source commented, describing the shock among some Starlink employees.
This account challenges Musk’s public statements. In a March post on X, formerly Twitter, he claimed: “We would never do such a thing.”
Musk and Nicolls did not respond to requests for comment. A SpaceX spokesperson dismissed Reuters’ reporting as “inaccurate” without elaborating, instead referencing a prior statement asserting: “Starlink is fully committed to providing service to Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office declined to comment. Nonetheless, Starlink remains in use by the Ukrainian military, and Zelenskiy has publicly thanked Musk for the service.
“Elon Musk’s current global dominance exemplifies the dangers of concentrated power in unregulated domains.”
— Martha Lane Fox, Member of Britain’s House of Lords
The rationale behind Musk’s directive remains uncertain. Insiders believe it was influenced by his concerns—later voiced publicly—that Ukrainian advances could provoke a nuclear response from Russia. One source pinpointed the outage to September 30, 2022, though others said the timing was approximate.
Musk’s influence now spans beyond business and into global security, driven by the expansion of Starlink. What began as an obscure satellite internet venture has evolved into a linchpin of modern military communication. His involvement with global leaders and defense departments—coupled with his companies’ dominance in space and internet infrastructure—has prompted growing concern among regulators.
“Its control,” said Lane Fox, referring to Starlink, “rests solely with Musk, allowing his whims to dictate access to vital infrastructure.”
Musk’s political engagement has also sparked scrutiny. After briefly advising former President Donald Trump, Musk distanced himself, criticizing a federal spending bill and threatening to form a new political party. Trump, in response, threatened to revoke contracts and subsidies benefiting Musk’s companies, including SpaceX’s defense ventures.
In the wake of the Kherson shutdown, Ukrainian officials turned to U.S. defense counterparts seeking answers. According to five sources, those calls yielded little clarity.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the incident. Whether White House or defense officials later engaged with Musk remains unknown.
This incident differs from a previously reported 2022 episode involving Crimea. Biographer Walter Isaacson claimed Musk denied Starlink service near Crimea to prevent a Ukrainian drone attack, citing fears of nuclear retaliation. Musk refuted this, asserting Starlink was never active in Crimea and that he simply declined a Ukrainian request to expand service. Isaacson later acknowledged inaccuracies in his initial account.
In early 2023, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell confirmed that the company took measures to prevent Ukraine from using Starlink for offensive operations like drone attacks. “There are things that we can do, and have done,” she said, without specifying whether this included the Kherson blackout.
While news of the Kherson outage circulated in limited reports, the exact cause was unclear at the time—leaving Ukrainian troops and foreign observers to speculate whether the issue stemmed from a technical failure, cyberattack, or deliberate action.
By April 2025, Ukraine had received over 50,000 Starlink terminals, some directly from SpaceX and others donated by allies including Poland, Germany, and the United States. The terminals, resembling pizza boxes in size, communicate with SpaceX’s constellation of thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit.
Video shared by Ukraine’s Defence Ministry during the counteroffensive praised Starlink’s role in sustaining communications.
This report is based on interviews with more than three dozen individuals, including former SpaceX employees, Western military officials, and senior diplomats. It highlights not only the critical nature of Starlink in Ukraine’s defense but also the growing global reliance on Musk’s infrastructure.
SpaceX now controls more than 7,900 satellites—over two-thirds of all active satellites globally. Starlink, with over six million subscribers in more than 140 markets, generated an estimated $9.8 billion in revenue in 2025, roughly 60% of SpaceX’s total earnings.
Despite growing competition from OneWeb, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, and Chinese state ventures, Starlink remains dominant. Its low cost and ease of use make it indispensable for militaries and governments alike. “There is no existing system right now to replace Starlink,” said analyst Grace Khanuja of Novaspace.
Its military applications have grown as well. Ukrainian forces routinely use Starlink on drones and for front-line communications. Western militaries such as the UK and Spain also use it, though currently only for troop welfare and not secure communications.
Nonetheless, some nations are cautious. Taiwan, concerned about Musk’s business interests in China, is developing its own satellite infrastructure and remains wary of overreliance on Starlink. Italy’s government, too, has questioned SpaceX’s assurances about service integrity.
“More than Musk’s word, we need assurances that we can’t be shut down, and especially that he can’t access the data,” said an individual familiar with Italian President Sergio Mattarella’s stance.
Poland, a key Ukrainian ally, has adopted a hybrid approach, integrating multiple providers to ensure redundancy. “In wartime, you want security,” said Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. “You want duplicated systems.”
Before the invasion, the U.S. had already discussed Starlink deployment with SpaceX. After the war began, Ukrainian official Mykhailo Fedorov publicly appealed to Musk, who replied within hours: “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.”
Poland quickly shipped thousands of terminals, ultimately covering about half of the units in Ukraine. The Polish government spent approximately $89 million on Starlink support.
The technology has also supported civilian operations, such as keeping government data accessible. “We wouldn’t be anywhere without Starlink,” said former Ukrainian ambassador Vadym Prystaiko. “The whole state was preserved.”
During Ukraine’s September 2022 push, Russian threats grew more pointed. In a UN address, Moscow condemned the use of commercial satellites in warfare, implying such systems could become military targets.
Musk later confirmed that Russia had tried to jam Starlink signals. “SpaceX is spending significant resources combating Russian jamming efforts,” he posted on X.
The Kremlin declined comment on Starlink interference. The service remains unlicensed in Russia.
By late September, as Ukrainian forces advanced and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization, Musk began backchannel talks with U.S. officials. Sources said Musk raised concerns over potential nuclear escalation and asked about Starlink’s battlefield usage.
Soon after, service was cut.
The full extent of the outage remains unclear, but sources confirmed it affected areas newly reclaimed from Russian forces. Ukrainian signal officer Taras Tymochko confirmed that communication with some front-line troops was lost for hours. “You pretty much would be blind,” he said.
Drone expert Maryna Tsirkun, also near Kherson, recalled the blackout lasting several days. “When we started to proceed, there was not a connection,” she said.
Musk further aggravated tensions by suggesting on X that residents in Russian-occupied territories vote on whether to remain part of Ukraine. Days later, he tweeted concern over a possible “massive escalation” in the war.
After criticism and debate over Starlink’s cost, Musk announced that SpaceX would continue funding Ukraine’s use of the service: “To hell with it, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.”
Efforts by Ukraine to maintain Musk’s support intensified. In early 2023, Fedorov praised the service again, noting Starlink’s ability to restrict service geographically. He later affirmed that by February, all terminals were operational.
SpaceX’s grip on space-based communications is unprecedented. But with it comes rising pressure for accountability. As Lori Garver, former NASA deputy administrator, noted: “We need contractual assurances that Musk won’t cut off services. We have to consider how comfortable we are putting SpaceX in the critical path on national security.”
As the world becomes more reliant on satellite services, governments must now ask what safeguards exist when a single individual can decide the outcome of a war.
