SpaceX has successfully cut off the Russian military from having “unauthorized” access to the Starlink satellite systems that had been used to attack Ukraine, Elon Musk said Sunday.
Musk, the SpaceX CEO, said Russia’s drone network had now lost access to the company’s satellites after Ukrainian officials informed him of Russia’s illegal use of the Starlink system last week,
“Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked,” the tech billionaire wrote on X.
Along with removing the Russian hackers from Starlink, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Kyiv was working with SpaceX to make sure the company’s terminals only work in Ukrainian territory.
“Ukraine, together with @Starlink, has already taken the first steps that delivered rapid results in countering Russian drones,” Fedorov wrote on X on Sunday.
“The next step is implementing a system that will allow only authorized terminals to operate on the territory of Ukraine,” he said. “In the coming days, we will share instructions for Ukrainian users to register their Starlink terminals for verification. Unverified terminals will be disabled.”
Fedorov said his team got in contact with SpaceX last Thursday after reports emerged of Russian drones, equipped with Starlink connectivity, operating over Ukrainian cities.
Russian forces had increasingly been using Starlink for weeks “to extend the range of BM-35 strike drones to conduct mid-range strikes against the Ukrainian rear,” according to the Institute of the Study of War.
The use was in direct violation of SpaceX’s policy, with the company announcing in February 2024 that it did not sell or ship Starlink terminals to Russia and that it did not do any business with the Kremlin and its military.
Musk had previously said that while militaries can use the technology, they are barred from using Starlink for offensive purposes.
Russia’s forces are believed to have acquired the Starlink terminals by stealing and hijacking them from conquered Ukrainian territories.
Starlink has been credited for supporting Ukraine following the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, with Fedorov hailing the technology as “critical” to Kyiv’s defenses.
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