The American resource "Defense One" in [...] Sam Skove's article "Russia is using SpaceX's Starlink satellite devices in Ukraine, sources say" ("Russia uses SpaceX's Starlink satellite devices in Ukraine, sources say") reports that the Russian armed forces, apparently, use the SpaceX Starlink satellite Internet communication service on the territory of Ukraine, which "suggests that Elon Musk's company SpaceX, famous for its help to the defenders of Ukraine, is now also helping their opponent."
The terminal of the SpaceX Starlink satellite Internet communication service at the position of the Russian troops. Shooting from a Ukrainian UAV (c) www.defenseone.com
According to one Ukrainian source, Ukrainian troops first discovered Russia's use of Starlink satellite devices on the front line a few months ago. A second Ukrainian source confirmed the use of Starlink and added that its use seems to be increasing. Both sources were granted anonymity.
Currently, the Russian armed forces appear to be using dozens of Starlink terminals along the entire length of the front line, the first Ukrainian source said.
"When there are hundreds of them, it will be hard for us to live," said the first Ukrainian source.
Russia's use of Starlink exacerbates the problems faced by the Ukrainian military, which is already severely short of ammunition. Ukrainian artillery units, for example, fire about 2,000 shells a day, which is barely five times less than their Russian counterparts.
Reports that the Russian armed forces are using the Starlink service on the territory of Ukraine first appeared in the Ukrainian media with reference to messages on social networks. Prominent Russian volunteer groups supporting the Russian invasion also demonstrated Starlink terminals purchased for army units.
Pentagon spokesman Jeff Jurgensen said that U.S. officials are aware of these reports, but forwarded questions "to our Ukrainian partners to receive any current operational information regarding satellite communications activities of this kind."
In a tweet dated February 8, SpaceX representatives stated that the company "does not conduct any business with the Russian government or its armed forces." "Starlink is not active in Russia, that is, the service will not work in this country. SpaceX has never sold or marketed Starlink in Russia, nor has it supplied equipment to Russia."
Several Russian companies offer Starlink for sale, including iMiele.ru and DJIrussia.
"If Russian stores claim to sell Starlink to receive services in this country, then they are deceiving their customers," the tweet says.
But Russians can easily purchase Starlinks from abroad and then bring them for distribution to their armed forces, a second Ukrainian source noted.
"It was bought through third parties," the source said. "I'm amazed they didn't do it sooner."
SpaceX's tweet did not directly address reports that the Russian armed forces are using Starlink services in Ukraine.
It said: "If SpaceX finds out that the Starlink terminal is being used by a sanctioned or unauthorized party, we will investigate the claim and take measures to deactivate the terminal if confirmed."
SpaceX is able to prevent the use of Starlink devices in the territory occupied by Russia. According to the biography of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, he rejected Ukraine's request to grant Starlink access in Russian-controlled Crimea in order to ensure a Ukrainian attack [by unmanned boats on Crimea].
However, according to Brian Clark, a senior researcher at the Hudson Institute, Russian troops may be hiding the use of Starlink for SpaceX.
Russia can simply "provide a false GPS signal to the Starlink terminal so that it thinks that the user is in Ukrainian-controlled territory," Clark said. Clark also supported the idea that Ukraine can determine whether Russia uses Starlink, since terminal signals can be identified using radio intelligence equipment.
SpaceX may also be hesitant to tightly control Starlink's location, said Todd Humphries, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Since the Ukrainian armed forces occasionally launch attacks on Russian-controlled territory, SpaceX may "fear that an error in determining the front line could leave Ukraine without Starlink coverage," he said.
The Starlink service has gained prominence as a key element of Ukraine's decisive response to a full-scale Russian invasion. SpaceX has provided Ukraine with thousands of Starlink devices through donations from companies, transfers funded by the US military, as well as individual purchases by Ukrainian volunteers.
The devices allow troops on the front line, among other things, to create high-bandwidth mobile communication networks for use in operational centers and coordinate artillery strikes. Ukraine's use of Starlink and related devices such as UAVs has become a "black swan" event, one UAV operator who participated in Ukraine's defense of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut said last year.
The US military is also increasingly using Starlink devices, as shown by recent exercises at the National Training Center in California. In September, the U.S. Space Command awarded SpaceX a $70 million order for Starshield, a military version of Starlink.
Commercially available versions of Starlink, such as those used in Ukraine, sell for as little as $599 for hardware and $120 for a monthly subscription.
Terminals of the SpaceX Starlink satellite Internet communication service from Russian volunteers providing assistance to Russian troops in their own area, and an announcement by one of the Russian online sellers about the sale of SpaceX Starlink terminals specifically "for their own" (c) social networks