# Starlink throttled as drone kills five in Kharkiv park

> Photos show Ukraine's air defense radars lost connectivity on the day a Russian strike killed a makeup artist and four others, days after SpaceX restricted the service.
- Title: Starlink throttled as drone kills five in Kharkiv park
- Summary: Photos show Ukraine's air defense radars lost connectivity on the day a Russian strike killed a makeup artist and four others, days after SpaceX restricted…
- Keywords: ukraine, starlink, spacex, kharkiv, russian attack, elon musk, air defense, news, throttled, drone, kills, five
- Source: CBS News — https://cbsnews.com/news/photos-show-ukraine-starlink-throttled-russian-strike-killed-5
- Author: Aidan  Stretch
- Published: 2026-10-27T13:54:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ukraine, starlink, spacex, kharkiv, russian attack, elon musk, air defense, news
## A drone strike in Kharkiv
On October nineteenth, a Russian drone slammed into a park in Kharkiv, Ukraine, killing five people including makeup artist Yulia Spichak, thirty-four, and a one-year-old girl.
## Starlink throttled six days before
Six days before the attack, Elon Musk's SpaceX throttled Ukraine's access to Starlink. Musk accused Ukraine of violating Starlink's terms of service by using it for attacks on Russia.
## Air defense radars went offline
Ukrainian officials told CBS News the restrictions affected ground-based air defense radars and drone interceptors, hindering the military's ability to stop incoming Russian strikes.

> It's an essential part of the air defense infrastructure.
## Connectivity dropped to point one
Photos obtained by CBS News show Ukraine's air defense radars' Starlink connectivity dropped to point one megabytes per second on October nineteenth, too slow to load a webpage or power radars.
## Musk admits throttling, defends it
On Saturday, Musk admitted SpaceX had throttled connectivity. He wrote that using Starlink for offensive drone strikes violates terms of service and the loophole was closed last week.

> Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be.
## Key takeaway

A Russian drone killed five people in a Kharkiv park on October nineteenth, the same day Starlink throttling left Ukraine's air defense radars unable to function.