Recently, drone operators in Ukraine discovered that their satellite connections stopped functioning at altitudes above 160 km/h. This led to interceptors designed to combat Russian strike drones suddenly being unable to hold targets. Furthermore, no warnings were received in Kyiv.
This failure affected Starshield, Elon Musk's military version of Starlink. The question of who gave the order to disable it is controversial. Three US officials told Reuters that the decision was made under a directive from the White House to the Pentagon. The Telegraph reported that Musk presented this idea to Donald Trump, who agreed. However, The Wall Street Journal published information on Tuesday stating that Musk himself gave the order.
Musk stated on X that the restrictions were 'resolved by the US military and ultimately the President,' referencing the US president. Trump, meanwhile, claimed he did not know about the responsible parties. His Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, noted that Starlink 'has the ability to make decisions regarding terms of service.'
In 2023, Musk confirmed that he rejected Kyiv's request to use Starlink for attacking drones against Russian ships off the Crimean coast. Regardless of whether Musk or Trump was to blame, one company accountable to its founder and Washington suddenly degraded connectivity in the country for reasons unrelated to the people depending on this service. In Ukraine, soldiers and civilians pay for this with their lives; elsewhere, the cost could amount to lost business, closed clinics, and an inability to provide emergency assistance.
For three years, the discussion in South Africa about Starlink has focused almost exclusively on empowerment issues. SpaceX refuses to sell 30% of the local subsidiary to historically disadvantaged groups. Communications Minister Sulli Malatsi tried to find a way through investment programs equivalent to equity stakes, while the communications regulator Icasa believes this path requires changes to the Electronic Communications Act.