SpaceX Confirms Starlink Throttling During Lethal Kharkiv Drone Strike

SpaceX has confirmed that it reduced data speeds for Ukraine's Starlink network during a Russian drone attack that killed five civilians in Kharkiv on October 19. The company acknowledged the connectivity drop after Ukrainian officials reported that the restrictions impaired air defense systems. The incident occurred six days after Elon Musk accused Ukraine of violating service terms by using the commercial network for offensive strikes.

Yulia Spichak, a 34-year-old makeup artist, was in a park in Kharkiv when a Geran-4 jet-powered drone struck the area. She had just dropped off her son for an English lesson. The impact killed Spichak and four others, including a one-year-old girl. Her sister, Alina Spichak, stated that the drone arrived with little warning, preventing victims from hearing it approach.

Photographs obtained by CBS News indicate that ground-based air defense radars experienced a connectivity drop to 0.1 megabytes per second on the day of the attack. A source familiar with the technology noted that such a rate is insufficient to load a standard webpage, let alone power radar systems. This low speed hindered the military's ability to track and intercept incoming threats.

Vadym Ivchenko, a Ukrainian member of parliament serving on the National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee, described the affected systems as essential infrastructure. He clarified that while other air defenses remained operational, the throttled components were critical for protecting civilians. Ukrainian officials said the restrictions were imposed without prior notice.

Musk stated on social media that using a civilian commercial service for offensive drone strikes had never been permitted. He claimed the company closed a loophole in its terms of service during the previous week. SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment regarding the specific impact on Ukrainian defenses.

Connectivity across Ukraine was restored on Saturday. Ukrainian officials also reported issues with Starshield, a military-grade network using the same satellite constellation as Starlink. Musk indicated that the U.S. government controls changes to Starshield. President Trump told reporters last week that he did not order the Starlink restrictions.

Alina Spichak revisited the park on Sunday to discuss the attack. She emphasized the need for global awareness of the ongoing conflict. She expressed hope that the war would end soon, noting that many people try to look away from the daily horrors of the strikes.