The terminals, which give commanders live battlefield views with drones and secure communication between soldiers, are subject to prohibitions that outlaw many U.S. electronics from reaching Moscow. Yet there is a burgeoning black market of Starlinks bringing the terminals to Russians on the front and their proliferation has been an important factor in Russia’s recent gains during its offensive, Ukrainian soldiers said.
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The issue has renewed Ukrainian frustrations over Elon Musk, SpaceX’s mercurial chief executive. Some of the soldiers criticized Musk by name, saying his company has not done enough to crack down on illicit use and casting doubt on his desire to fix the problem, saying he appears to have favorable views toward Russia.
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Kyiv and Washington face difficulties solving the problem of Russian use of Starlink, analysts have said, especially in light of Moscow’s success in sidestepping sanctions and the technical challenge of denying access to the Starlink network without affecting Ukrainian troops.
The U.S. and Ukrainian governments are working with SpaceX to “prevent Russia’s illicit use of Starlink terminals in occupied Ukraine,” including focus from the U.S. Treasury Department on “potential sanctions violations” related to the international smuggling effort, said Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz, a Defense Department spokesman.
SpaceX referred to a post on X in February that said it deactivates terminals if used “by a sanctioned or unauthorized party.”
The Pentagon and SpaceX did not offer specifics on U.S. efforts, including how many illicit terminals used by Russian forces have been taken offline. Treasury declined to comment.
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Starlink terminals have expanded across Russian positions all year, but only in the past few months have their effects been really felt, as Russian troops on the offensive use them to coordinate assaults. Ukrainian troops flying reconnaissance drones near Novohrodivka, southeast of the strategic Donetsk city of Pokrovsk, described seeing Starlinks in the Russian lines starting last month.
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To activate a device, users need a foreign phone number, email and bank account to pay the monthly subscription fee, prompting suppliers to seek out people willing to lend their identities. Users in “client support” Telegram chats say it is easy to buy and register Starlink kits abroad. Most are obtained in Europe and transported through the United Arab Emirates. One page warns not to activate the terminal in Russia.
One supplier advised that connections for devices bought in the European Union could be blocked after 90 days of usage, suggesting one solution is to register using Ukrainian details.
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There are other viable methods to control illegal terminals, said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow and space security expert at the American Enterprise Institute. One possibility, he said, is for Kyiv and Washington to collect terminal IDs and provide them to SpaceX, with direction to deny access to anything else.
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