Ukrainian intelligence said on Saturday that Russian forces had begun using billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service on the front, although that network had until then been used only by Ukrainian forces.
“Yes, cases of the use of these devices by Russian occupiers have been recorded. This is beginning to take on a systematic character,” Andrei Yusov, spokesman for the Main Directorate of Ukrainian Military Intelligence, told RBC-Ukraine.
According to the UNIAN news agency, radio intercepts proved that Russian units stationed near Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, “have begun to extensively use Starlink on the front.”
Starlink has a network of more than 2,000 small satellites in low orbit above Earth, which helps provide Internet access. The ground stations are then connected to routers that make it possible to create a wifi network and thus access the Internet.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, has delivered thousands of terminals that provide Internet connectivity. About 25,000 terminals have been deployed in the country.
This network is essential for Ukrainian army communications, and has not been used by Russian forces before.
According to Ukrainian military bloggers, Russia was able to acquire Starlink terminals through third countries. If the network is blocked in Russia, Russian forces in Ukraine will likely be able to access it.
Ukraine and Elon Musk have a complicated relationship. Kiev had thanked him for deploying its satellites, but later became angry when he suggested that the country give up territory to achieve peace.
The billionaire also claimed to have prevented a Ukrainian attack on a Russian naval base in 2022 by rejecting a request from Kiev to activate Internet access via Starlink in the Black Sea, near the Crimean peninsula that Moscow annexed.
