Russia Is Using Elon Musk’s Starlink at the Front Line, Ukraine Says
Russian access to satellite internet system would negate a major battlefield advantage for Kyiv
KYIV, Ukraine—Russian forces are using SpaceX’s satellite internet system near the front line in occupied parts of Ukraine, Kyiv’s military intelligence agency said, potentially undercutting a major battlefield advantage for Ukraine’s army.
Access to the system, known as Starlink, has enabled front-line Ukrainian forces to communicate via secure internet chat apps, allowing them to stay in contact without relying on cell or radio signals, which are easier to intercept.
In a statement posted to X—which, like SpaceX, is owned by Elon Musk—Starlink said the service didn’t work in Russia, but didn’t address whether it could be used in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
“SpaceX does not do business of any kind with the Russian Government or its military,” the California company, which is formally known as Space Exploration Technologies, said in the statement. “Starlink is not active in Russia, meaning service will not work in that country.”
Although Starlink systems can’t be purchased in Russia, Ukrainian media reported that Russian forces have been purchasing the devices in third countries, and then bringing them to the front.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, said Kyiv had intercepted radio communications from Russia’s 83rd Separate Air-Assault Brigade in the occupied Donetsk region that indicated they were using Starlink terminals.
“This is starting to become systemic,” Yusov said of the Russian use of Starlink in occupied territory.
Access to Starlink has been a politically charged issue since early in the war, when Musk decided to make the service available in Ukraine. Starlink is considered so vital to Ukrainian operations that, last year, when SpaceX said it could no longer fund access for Kyiv, the Pentagon agreed to pay to keep the service running. Private donors, governments and other organizations also pay for terminals.
Tension over Starlink access has continued. Last fall, a biography of Musk revealed that Ukraine, in 2022, asked for Starlink access for a surprise attack on Russian naval vessels in occupied Crimea. Musk refused, to the dismay of Ukraine’s government.
If Russia does indeed have systemic access to Starlink along the front, it would curtail one of Ukraine’s chief battlefield advantages at a difficult moment for Kyiv.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year failed to make significant gains, leaving Russia in control of roughly 20% of Ukraine’s territory. Moscow is now on the attack again, while Ukraine is suffering from a shortage of manpower and artillery ammunition. Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky replaced his top general as part of an effort to reboot the country’s war effort.