Elon Musk said on Sunday that measures taken by SpaceX to prevent Russia from using the Starlink satellite network appear to be effective, after Ukraine reported that Russian forces had used the system in drone attacks. "Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked," Musk wrote on X, adding: "Let us know if more needs to be done."
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Ukraine's military depends on tens of thousands of Starlink terminals for battlefield communications and for guiding some drone operations. Ukrainian officials said earlier this week that Starlink devices had been found on long-range drones used by Russian forces, prompting immediate coordination with SpaceX to address the issue.
In a separate statement, Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Kyiv was developing additional safeguards to prevent future misuse. "Ukraine, together with @Starlink, has already taken the first steps that delivered rapid results in countering Russian drones," he wrote on X. "The next step is implementing a system that will allow only authorized terminals to operate on the territory of Ukraine."
SpaceX has previously said it does not sell or ship Starlink equipment to Russia and has no business ties with the Russian government or its military. Musk activated Starlink over Ukraine in 2022 after Kyiv requested assistance in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion, and the system has since become a core element of Ukraine's military communications network...
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