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“Arabs carry everything”: is it possible to ban Starlink for Russians?

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has published intercepts of conversations between Russian military personnel in which they talk about the possibility of purchasing Starlink systems through Arab countries. This was reported by the citing the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine’s press service.

When discussing communications at the front, the occupiers mention Starlink terminals, which work perfectly and can be purchased through Arab countries for 200,000 rubles (83,000 UAH).

“The Arabs bring everything: wires, Wi-Fi, a router…”.

From Russia with Starlink

Recently, there have been more and more reports of Russians using Starlink to communicate at the front. on 11 February 2024, this information was confirmed by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. In particular, the use of Starlink in the units of the 83rd Air Assault Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, which operates in Donetsk region near Klishchiyivka and Andriivka, was confirmed. The DIU claims that the scale of use is growing.

“Yes, there are cases of Russian occupants using these devices. This is starting to become systematic,”

– said Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

In response, SpaceX owner Elon Musk said that they do not sell Starlink to Russians.

“Some false reports claim that SpaceX is selling Starlink terminals to Russia. This is absolutely not true. To date, no Starlink terminals have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia,”

– Musk wrote.

SpaceX, which is the operator of the satellite Internet via Starlink, also reported that the company immediately deactivates a particular terminal if it learns of its unauthorised use.

“If SpaceX receives information that a Starlink terminal is being used by an unauthorised or unauthorised party, we will investigate the claim and take steps to deactivate the terminal if confirmed,”

– the company said.

The use of Starlink by Russians was denied even in the Kremlin.

“This is not a certified system in Russia, it is not officially supplied here. Accordingly, it cannot be used officially in any way,”

– said Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.

As you can see, the latest intercepts by the Defence Intelligence of the Russian Federation refute the statements of Musk and SpaceX. It turned out that Russians can use Starlink “unofficially”.

Is it possible to “ban” Starlink for Russians?

Some analysts argue that it is really difficult for Spacex to control the use of all its equipment in the context of hostilities and a moving front. In particular, the Russians can hide the facts of use from the company.

“[Russia can] send a fake GPS signal to the Starlink terminal to make it think that the user is in Ukrainian-controlled territory,”

– says Brian Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

However, Ukraine can combat this, he argues, as the signals from the terminals can be identified by electronic intelligence.

Military expert Mykhailo Zhyrokhov in his commentary warns against overestimating the importance of Starlink for establishing communications on the battlefield.

“Firstly, Starlinks are only important if they work smoothly. And it is wrong, to put it mildly, to build some kind of troop management system on them. Because tomorrow, Musk will decide to turn them off in this territory, and they won’t work. As an additional backup communication channel, as an Internet capability, yes. But they are not suitable for building a military system, military communication,”

– zhyrokhov believes.

Musk holds the key to Starlink, wherever it is used.

“How to counteract this? Only the influence of the US government on Musk, which can programmatically disable the Internet as a means of communication in the occupied territory,”

– the expert adds.

Starlink on the battlefield

Starlink technology is a broadband satellite internet service from SpaceX that is distributed through thousands of low-orbiting satellites.

The Starlink terminals were delivered to Ukraine immediately after the full-scale Russian invasion, at the end of February 2022. The vast majority of Ukrainian military personnel believe that its importance is almost impossible to overestimate for establishing communication on the battlefield in modern conditions, especially at the beginning of a full-scale war.

However, the use of SpaceX technology in the Armed Forces has not been without its problems. Elon Musk initially announced the free transfer and use of Starlink in Ukraine, but this position changed. Thus, in October 2022, SpaceX announced that it could disconnect Starlink for Ukraine, as it could no longer financially bear the costs. It all ended up with the Pentagon paying for Starlink for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In addition, there have been reports that Elon Musk manages Starlink at his own discretion, which sometimes affects the military situation in Ukraine. In particular, CNN, referring to an excerpt from Walter Isaacson’s biographical book about Musk, reported an episode when Musk turned off Starlink near the Crimean coast to prevent Ukrainian naval drones from attacking Russian ships. It worked and the attack was thwarted.

Also, on the eve of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counter-offensive in 2023, there was an incident with the restriction of Starlink communication for Ukrainian drones. SpaceX then confirmed this step and said that their Internet was “never intended to be used as a weapon”.

As you can see, the tendency is that Starlink usually stops working to save the occupiers’ lives and equipment from Ukrainian strikes. Therefore, the Ukrainian military is constantly forced to come up with different schemes for using Starlink connections to avoid giving Musk any reason to accuse them of using their Internet for offensive military operations.