Fact Check: Reports of Russia Using Starlink for Ukrainian Attacks Examined

In a significant escalation of tensions over satellite technology in the Ukraine conflict, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has accused Elon Musk’s Starlink of “making money on war crimes,” claiming the satellite internet service is being utilized by Russian forces against Ukraine.

The January 27 accusation followed new evidence from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which reported that Russian forces have increasingly deployed Starlink satellite systems to extend the range of their strike drones significantly.

In response to these allegations, Ukraine’s defense ministry and SpaceX announced collaborative efforts to block Russian forces from accessing the Starlink network, highlighting growing concerns about technology misuse in the conflict zone.

Starlink, operated by a SpaceX subsidiary, provides satellite internet service to approximately 150 countries and territories worldwide. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the technology has been extensively used for both humanitarian and military purposes in Ukraine.

Financial support for these services comes from multiple sources. The U.S. Department of Defense has partially covered costs since June 2023, while the Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs contributes approximately $50 million annually to maintain Starlink services in Ukraine.

On the ground, Ukrainian forces utilize Starlink for battlefield communications, while government agencies depend on it to maintain public services and digital ID systems. Hospitals and emergency services also rely on the technology during power outages, underscoring its critical infrastructure role.

Musk has previously stated that Starlink is prohibited for offensive military operations under the company’s terms of service. He has also refused to activate the service over Russian-occupied Crimea, citing potential escalation concerns.

However, Victoria Samson, a space security analyst at the Secure World Foundation, explained to Euronews that Starlink can support drone attacks by enabling long-range communication between operators. Furthermore, drones equipped with Starlink technology are notably resistant to jamming efforts by Ukrainian forces.

Reports of Russian forces accessing Starlink services emerged as early as 2024. SpaceX has maintained that it does not sell or ship Starlink to Russia and conducts no business with the Russian government or military. International sanctions and export controls should theoretically prevent Moscow’s troops from legally acquiring Starlink hardware.

Despite these measures, Ukrainian officials claim to have evidence of “hundreds” of attacks by Russian drones equipped with Starlink terminals. These terminals allegedly allow Russian operators to bypass Ukraine’s electronic defenses that typically disable drones by jamming GPS and radio signals.

Ukrainian defense technology adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov suggested on Telegram that Starlink technology may have been involved in a recent Russian drone strike on a passenger train in the Kharkiv region that killed five people.

Melanie Garson, associate professor of international security at University College London, indicated that available evidence points to Moscow acquiring Starlink through illicit channels – either through allied nations, battlefield capture of units, or purchases through shadow markets.

In response to these developments, Ukraine’s defense ministry announced collaboration with SpaceX to implement a new verification system described as a “whitelist,” allowing only registered Starlink terminals to operate within Ukraine. Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov introduced this system to restrict unauthorized use.

Musk has reported initial success with these measures and has urged Kyiv to report any remaining cases of unauthorized use, comments that have been positively received by Ukrainian officials.

Experts acknowledge the technical complexity of restricting Russian access to Starlink in an active conflict zone. Victoria Samson explained that while SpaceX can implement geofencing to limit Starlink coverage to defined regions, this approach is challenging along an active frontline where boundaries continually shift, potentially disrupting legitimate Ukrainian Starlink users.

David Bacci, a senior research assistant at Oxford Thermofluids Institute, suggested that reported Starlink outages in Ukraine during 2024 may have resulted from such geofencing attempts as Starlink worked to prevent Russian use of the system.

While the controversy continues, independent analysts emphasize that there is no evidence suggesting Elon Musk or SpaceX have directly supplied Starlink services to Russian forces. The more likely scenario remains that Russian troops have acquired terminals through battlefield capture or illicit markets and are using them illegally to support drone operations against Ukrainian targets.