// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Musk says SpaceX restricted Ukraine's Starlink connection as service restored
Elon Musk has said his company SpaceX restricted Ukraine's Starlink internet service, after Ukrainian officials said connectivity issues appeared to have been resolved.
The tech billionaire accused Ukraine of violating its terms of service by using it for military activity - but denied being responsible for a simultaneous issue with its US-run, military-grade counterpart Starshield.
Kyiv has not officially commented on Musk's latest claim but Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said his post was "very strange".
Musk had earlier denied deliberately throttling Ukraine's connection, which it says hampered its ability to conduct defensive operations for more than a week.
The issue first emerged last week during a broader row between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.
Musk's latest comments, and the seeming restoration of the service, came after US President Donald Trump said he had told the Tesla and X owner to "put it back", having repeatedly denied instructing him to limit the service.
"Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be," Musk wrote on X on Saturday.
"Ukraine['s] military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week."
He went on to say that SpaceX had "done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth" and reiterated his stipulation that Starshield was a different system and controlled by the US government, adding: "What they decide to do is up to them."
He added in a later post: "[Starlink] can be used for infrastructure that is military, but it cannot be used for unequivocally offensive strikes that make it fair game to be struck back."