Russia's Use of Starlink 'Systemic' in Ukraine: Kyiv

Russian forces are making "systemic" use of Starlink's satellite network against Ukraine, Kyiv's military intelligence agency said on Sunday, raising questions over how the essential satellites are now being used in the nearly 2-year-old war.

"There have been recorded cases of the use of these devices by the Russian occupiers," Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's GUR, told Ukrainian outlet RBC in an article published on Sunday. "This is starting to take on a systemic nature," Yusov told the outlet.

In a separate statement, the GUR said it had intercepted radio conversations between Russian forces using Starlink terminals on the battlefield. Troops with Moscow's 83rd Assault Brigade are using Starlink to access the internet in hotspots in the eastern Donetsk region, including near the village of Klishchiivka and the town of Andriivka, the GUR said.

Starlink is owned and operated by entrepreneur Elon Musk's California-based aerospace firm, SpaceX. Starlink accounts for a huge percentage of active satellites, providing access to the internet in areas like conflict zones that has been used extensively by Ukraine throughout the war.

In response to a Newsweek request for comment on Sunday, SpaceX repeated previous statements, saying it does "not do business of any kind with the Russian government or its military."

"Starlink is not active in Russia, meaning service will not work in that country," the company said in a statement. "SpaceX has never sold or marketed Starlink in Russia, nor has it shipped equipment to locations in Russia. If Russian stores are claiming to sell Starlink for service in that country, they are scamming their customers."

"If SpaceX obtains knowledge that a Starlink terminal is being used by a sanctioned or unauthorized party, we investigate the claim and take actions to deactivate the terminal if confirmed," the company added.

Images circulating on social media "appear to support GUR claims that Russia is using Starlink terminals inside occupied Ukraine," military and weapons expert, David Hambling, told Newsweek.

The reports raise questions about why Russia would need to make use of Starlink, and what this could indicate about the ability of commercial satellite communications systems to provide what military networks cannot, he added.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Earlier this week, an unnamed Ukrainian source told DefenseOne that Russia appeared to be making use of numerous Starlink terminals across the front line. "When they have hundreds, it'll be hard for us to live," the source told the publication.

Two sources in the Ukrainian government told the Reuters news agency that Kyiv had detected Russian Starlink use in occupied territory in the war-torn country.

SpaceX has also referenced reports that Starlink internet terminals had ended up in Russian hands via intermediaries in the Middle East, saying the Starlink "does not operate in Dubai."

"Starlink cannot be purchased in Dubai nor does SpaceX ship there," the company repeated on Sunday. "Additionally, Starlink has not authorized any third-party intermediaries, resellers or distributors of any kind to sell Starlink in Dubai."

Reports had suggested Moscow was using Starlink in Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory, raising more questions around its alleged use along the front lines.

Ukraine has used Starlink to conduct reconnaissance missions, collect intelligence and carry out drone strikes. In the initial months of the war, Musk said Starlink had "resisted Russian cyberwar jamming" and hacking attempts, but that "they're ramping up their efforts."

"Starlink is indeed the blood of our entire communication infrastructure now," Ukraine's Digital Infrastructure Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, told The New York Times in an article published in late July 2023.

"Absolutely all front lines are using them," Ukraine's GUR chief, Kyrylo Budanov, then said in remarks reported by Ukrainian media in September 2023.

"It's a key capability for Ukraine," Hambling said. "We have no indication of what Russia is using it for, but they would not be adopting it without some specific use in mind."

"Low-cost, secure, easily-accessible satellite communications are likely to be increasingly important for both sides," Hambling predicted.

Earlier this month, SpaceX president and chief executive, Gwynne Shotwell, said the company had moved to limit Ukraine's access to Starlink for controlling drones.

In September 2023, Musk said he had previously blocked Ukraine from accessing Starlink for operations around the annexed Crimean peninsula. He received an "emergency request from [Ukrainian] government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol," Musk said in a statement to X.

Russia bases many of its Black Sea naval fleet resources at Sevastopol, a major Crimean port city on the peninsula Russia has controlled since 2014. Crimea is internationally recognized as Ukrainian, and Kyiv has vowed to reclaim it. It has launched repeated attacks on Crimea and Sevastopol in the nearly two years of all-out war.

"The obvious intent" was to "sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor," Musk said. "If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation."

"I can absolutely confirm that Starlink systems were not working near Crimea for a certain period because we also applied certain techniques," Budanov said.