The Ukrainian secret service wants to be able to prove through intercepted military conversations that Russian soldiers are using the US Starlink satellite system.
Kiev – In the war against Russia, the US satellite communications system Starlink, which belongs to tech billionaire Elon Musk, has so far been primarily for Ukraine one of the most important tools. But reports suggest that Russia is now also using the modern technology. Since Musk's company SpaceX denies having done business with Russia, there is now speculation about possible intermediaries.
The findings were made public in various media reports, including the US portal Defense One. The Ukrainian secret service then confirmed on Sunday that Russia not only had Starlink terminals on Ukrainian territory, but was also using them more and more. The authority also published an audio file that is said to come from the Russian-occupied side of the front. Someone can be heard saying in Russian: “Starlink works, there is internet.”
Starlink in the Ukraine war: According to military sources, Russia has been using the system for months
But while the Starlink operating company SpaceX assured Ukraine of its support shortly after the start of the war and initially provided the country with free satellite communications to defend the country, business with the Russian government and its military has always been ruled out. The company most recently emphasized this on Thursday when it published a statement on the short message service X after SpaceX “never sold or marketed in Russia (…) and has not delivered any equipment to locations in Russia.”
From sides Defense One However, it was said that Ukrainian military sources have been talking for months about Russian soldiers using the technology Ukraine war to use. There were also reports that the Starlink terminals ended up with the Russians through intermediaries in Dubai. This has not yet been proven. According to a report in the Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Independent Several Russian companies have recently offered alleged Starlink terminals for sale. SpaceX asserted that these must be counterfeits.
Availability of Starlink: SpaceX wants to check and shut down unauthorized terminals
SpaceX had, according to a report by German press agency has stated in the past that the service is also not available in Dubai and devices cannot be delivered there. In its statement on Thursday, however, the company assured that if it found out about unauthorized use, it would check it and shut down the relevant terminals as quickly as possible.
While Starlink was a great help to Ukraine at the beginning of the war of aggression, problems are now starting to arise between Ukraine and Musk. A few months ago, Musk declared that he had prevented a Ukrainian attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet by refusing to activate Starlink in the region around the annexed Crimean peninsula. (saka with dpa)
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