Efforts to prevent Russia from using the Starlink internet system to guide drones for attacks on Ukraine have yielded “real results,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Sunday.
Fedorov said Ukraine has taken initial steps to counter Russian drones in cooperation with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which owns Starlink.
He said the next step is “to put in place a system that will allow only authorized terminals to operate on Ukrainian territory.”
Fedorov continued: “In the coming days, we will share instructions for Ukrainian users to register Starlink devices for verification. Unverified devices will be disabled.”
He added that the registration process will be “simple, quick and user-friendly”.
“The steps we took to prevent Russia from misusing Starlink were successful,” Musk said in response to Fedorov.
“Please let me know if more needs to be done,” Musk wrote regarding X.
Fedorov similarly said that the first steps are “already yielding real results.”
“Thank you for standing with us. You are a true defender of freedom and a true friend of the Ukrainian people,” Fedorov wrote to Musk.
Since the start of Ukraine’s war, the government and many civilians, businesses, and public institutions such as hospitals and schools have relied on Musk’s satellite-based internet service, which is used by the military to communicate and operate drones.
Due to US sanctions, Starlink cannot be sold or used in Russia. But analysts and Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is increasingly looking for ways to use the system to its advantage, seeking ways to equip attack drones with terminals to drive deep into Ukrainian territory.
Starlink-powered drones have longer range and are less susceptible to interference than radio- or cable-guided drones. The ultra-fast connection also allows for real-time control from within Russia, allowing for more precise control.
Ukraine has collected evidence of “hundreds” of attacks by Russian drones equipped with Starlink terminals, said Serhiy Beskhrestnov, a military technical expert and adviser to Ukraine’s defense ministry.
Beskrestnov said the deadly attack on a civilian train in eastern Ukraine was also likely carried out by a Shahed drone equipped with a mesh radio modem or possibly Starlink.
Last week, Musk called Poland’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Radosław Sikorski a “slobbering idiot” after the latter questioned why Russia “won’t stop Russia from using Starlink to target Ukrainian cities.”
Last March, as U.S.-Ukraine relations deteriorated after President Donald Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to negotiate, Musk described Starlink as “the backbone of the Ukrainian military.”
“If I turn off the power, their entire front will collapse,” he said, adding: “No matter how much I oppose Ukraine’s policy, Starlink will never turn off the terminal.”
In 2024, Musk denied that the Starlink system had been sold to Russia, adding, “To our knowledge, Starlink has never been sold to Russia, directly or indirectly.”
At the time, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Service claimed to have confirmed the use of Starlink satellite communications by the Russian military in the occupied territories.
“If SpaceX receives information that a Starlink device is being used by a sanctioned or unauthorized party, we will investigate the allegation and take steps to disable the device if confirmed,” SpaceX said in a statement.
Beskrestnov said over the weekend that Russia’s efforts to curb Starlink’s use had temporarily affected some Ukrainian users.
“We apologize to those temporarily affected by the measures taken, but for the security of our country these are extremely important and necessary measures at this time,” he said on Facebook.
