Moscow Threatens Elon Musk’s SpaceX With Nuclear Retaliation Over Ukraine Starlink Use

Russian State Duma  Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin threatened a nuclear strike if SpaceX continues to provide Ukraine with Starlink satellite internet access.

His comments follow a Ukrainian strike on occupied Starobilsk on May 22, which the Ukrainian General Staff reported targeted the "Rubikon" Russian drone unit headquarters. Moscow claims the attack hit a college dormitory, according to The Moscow Times on May 26.

“Elon Musk himself must understand that his satellites are being used to kill children. This could all lead to us using weapons that will leave no trace of anyone,” according to the Duma's press service. The Speaker instructed the relevant committee to prepare a draft resolution addressed to the parliaments of other countries, calling on them to stop “assisting terrorists.”

The Russian military previously utilized Starlink terminals to coordinate frontline operations and deploy drones until early 2026, when Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov coordinated with SpaceX to deactivate unauthorized terminals.

Following the loss of satellite access, Russian advances slowed significantly, allowing Ukrainian forces to reclaim approximately 400 square kilometers during a counteroffensive.

In response to what it falsely claimed was a Ukrainian strike on civilian infrastructure in occupied Starobilsk, Russian forces launched a massive missile and drone attack against Kyiv and the surrounding region on the night of May 24, utilizing the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile.

While the Kremlin attempted to frame the barrage as a targeted retaliation, Ukrainian officials and open-source intelligence confirmed that the assault systematically struck non-military targets, including a water supply facility, schools, a marketplace, and numerous residential buildings. The strikes killed four people and injured 65 others, damaging nine apartment buildings in the capital and five in the region.

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The bombardment also caused damage to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Tax Service headquarters, the Kyiv Academic Theater, the National Art Museum, the Chornobyl Museum, the Kyiv School of Economics, and the Institute of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 25 that regular strikes on Kyiv had been ordered as a direct response to the Starobilsk incident. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously stated that systematic strikes on the capital would continue.

Earlier, a prominent Russian state TV host has called for the use of a nuclear detonation in space to destroy SpaceX’s Starlink satellites after the company moved to block their use by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Vladimir Solovyov, one of the Kremlin’s most visible propagandists, made the remarks during a broadcast of his prime-time talk show on Russia 1, framing Starlink as a legitimate military target after SpaceX restricted access to the system for Russian troops.

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