The Ukrainian military claimed Sunday it had proof the Russian military was using Starlink to access the internet for communication in occupied territories in the Donbas region—a claim that has been repeatedly denied by Starlink owner SpaceX, which has previously sought to prevent Ukraine from using the service for “offensive purposes.”
The Ukrainian government released an audio clip of what it claims is a Russian soldier discussing ... [+]
According to the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency, the country had proof Russia’s 83rd Assault Brigade was using the service in Klishchiivka and Andriivka, two towns in the Donetsk region that have seen fierce fighting in recent months.
As proof of the allegations, the agency released a brief 12-second audio clip on social media, where a Russian speaker claims “Starlink works, there is internet.”
After Forbes reached out to SpaceX for comment, it responded by sharing a link back to a previous denial, which insists the company has never done business with the Russian government, Starlink terminals have never been for sale in Russia, are not shipped to the country and do not function within Russian borders.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, said they had “recorded cases” of Russian soldiers using the system, and it was “starting to take on a systemic nature.”
The Ukrainian government has not commented on how they believe Russian troops were able to gain access to Starlink hardware.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Starlink has played a pivotal role in providing Internet access to many parts of the war-torn country. The Ukrainian military has also used the technology to assist in drone strikes against Russian forces—provoking criticism from SpaceX leaders, including billionaire founder and CEO Elon Musk. In February 2023, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell announced the company would take steps to prevent Ukraine from using Starlink for drone strikes, claiming at a Federal Aviation Administration conference the service was “never meant to be weaponized.” Shotwell said the military could continue to use the service for communications, but not for “offensive purposes.” Later the same year, a biography of Musk revealed the CEO personally took steps to prevent a Ukrainian drone strike that he believed would be a “mini-Pearl Harbor.”
According to an excerpt first published by CNN, in 2022 Musk secretly ordered SpaceX engineers to turn off the system in Crimea in order to disrupt a planned Ukrainian ambush on the Russian Navy based in Sevastopol. Musk later confirmed he made the move after receiving an emergency request from the Ukrainian government to activate Starlink terminals in the Crimean city. “If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation,” Musk claimed in a post on X.