Experts warn:

Russians are now also using Musk’s Starlink in the war

Starlink is a satellite network operated by the US space company SpaceX(Bild: Dayan - stock.adobe.com)

Often praised as a "secret weapon", tech millionaire Elon Musk's Starlink system is of great importance for the Ukrainian army's communication and enemy observation. It can even control drones and correct artillery fire. However, the aggressor Russia is now also likely to rely on the service - a fact that is making it increasingly difficult for Ukraine to survive.

Elon Musk provided Ukraine with Starlink antennas after the Russian army invaded. This gave the armed forces of the war-torn country a trump card up their sleeve against which even numerous Russian hackers were powerless. However, it is well known that Russia is not prepared to accept this one-sided support so easily: The head of the Russian space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, threatened some time ago with consequences for supplying "fascist forces in Ukraine". Musk joked on Twitter-X at the time: "If I die under mysterious circumstances - it was good to have known you."

Now, however, the tide is turning. According to information from Kiev, Russian troops in Ukraine are now also using the Starlink satellite internet service. Ukrainian military intelligence published an audio recording on Telegram in which Russian paratroopers are said to be discussing the installation of Starlink terminals. Russia has not commented on this.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is a satellite service that allows people to communicate with each other even in remote areas of the world. It consists of a constantly growing network of satellites (currently said to number 4,000) that are in low Earth orbit.

Evidence of this already surfaced on social networks a few months ago. However, in a tweet shared on February 8, SpaceX representatives assured that the company does not do business with the Russian government or the Russian military. "Starlink is not active in Russia and that means the service will not work in this country," they said. SpaceX has not sold or marketed Starlink in Russia, nor has it supplied equipment to sites in Russia.

System "hacked" with false signal?
However, the Russians could simply acquire Starlink abroad and then distribute it to their armed forces, a source told the US portal "Defense One". Naval expert Bryan Clark from the Hudson Institute told the newspaper that Russian troops could conceal the use of Starlink. Russia could send a false GPS signal to the Starlink terminal to make it appear that the user is in Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Todd Humphreys, an expert in satellite navigation, believes it is possible that SpaceX is not currently monitoring the location of the terminals so closely. This is because the Ukrainian armed forces have at times stepped up their attacks against Russia - it could be feared that errors could occur when determining the front line. In this case, the attacked country could lose its Starlink supply.

Satellite internet via the online store
The magazine "Newsweek" states that Starlink devices are now even available via online stores and are sold to volunteer organizations that support Russian troops in the occupied territories in Ukraine. Mail order companies such as "imiele.ru" or "djirussia.ru" are offering the terminals for 299,000 roubles (around 3050 euros) each. US security expert Samuel Bendett described on "X" that Russian volunteers had already purchased Starlink devices for the military.

The fact that Russia is apparently now also using Starlink is exacerbating the already burning problems of the Ukrainian military - as the country is increasingly struggling with ammunition shortages. Russia is currently believed to be using ten Starlink terminals along the front line, according to the US portal "Defense One". "If they ever have hundreds of them, it will be tight for us," the site quotes a Ukrainian source.