Kharkiv Drone Strike: Starlink Speed Drops to 0.1 Megabytes

Ground-based air defense radars in Ukraine recorded Starlink connectivity levels of 0.1 megabytes per second on October 19. Photographs obtained by CBS News show the data rate dropped to that level the same day a Russian drone struck a park in Kharkiv. The speed was too low to load a standard webpage, according to a source familiar with the technology.

Five people died in the attack, including Yulia Spichak, a 34-year-old makeup artist, and a 1-year-old girl. Spichak had dropped her son off at an English lesson and sat in the park to send a selfie to her sister, Alina. A Geran-4 jet-powered drone hit the group, killing them instantly. Alina Spichak said the drone arrived so quickly that the victims did not hear it approaching.

The strike occurred six days after Elon Musk’s company SpaceX throttled Ukraine’s access to Starlink. Musk stated on X that Ukraine violated the service terms by using the civilian network for offensive drone strikes against Russia. He added that the company closed that loophole last week. Ukrainian officials said the restrictions were imposed without advance notice and disrupted their ability to intercept incoming attacks.

Vadym Ivchenko, a Ukrainian member of parliament on the National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee, described the Starlink connection as an essential part of air defense infrastructure. He told CBS News that while other defenses remained operational, the loss of this specific link hindered the protection of civilians. Ukrainian officials confirmed that Starlink access was restored across the country on Saturday.

Musk wrote that using a civilian commercial service for offensive strikes to kill people has never been allowed. He maintained that the Ukrainian military used the system for offensive operations. Ukrainian officials also reported connectivity problems with Starshield, a military-grade network running on the same satellite constellation. Musk said the U.S. government controls changes to that specific network.

SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. The White House pointed reporters to President Trump, who said last week that he did not order the restrictions. Alina Spichak revisited the park site on Sunday with reporters. She said the world must know that a war is happening in Ukraine and that attacks are ongoing.