Russia reluctantly uses Starlink in its army despite disapproval

The Russian Foreign Ministry said SpaceX's Starlink satellites could be “legitimate targets.” At the same time, the Russian army is stocking up on Starlink satellites to wage its war in Ukraine.

The Starlink satellite constellation annoys Russia. Reuters news agency reports on March 20, 2024, the words of Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, declaring that Russia “ is aware of US intelligence efforts to tap commercial satellite operators such as SpaceX ” And ” warned that such moves made their satellites legitimate targetss”.

Starlink has been in use since the early months of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Connection kits had been sent by Elon Musk, the billionaire at the head of the company, to help the population on site. Six months later, the billionaire reversed his support and put forward several arguments to limit his involvement. Behind the scenes, Elon Musk has nevertheless obtained extensive financial support from the Pentagon to continue sending his products to Ukraine. These antennas are necessary to fly mini drones, decisive devices for observing and attacking.

However, for two months, connection kits have been seen – and destroyed – on the Russian side. Videos showing antennas deployed on the front were broadcast on social networks. Volunteers supporting the invasion of Ukraine openly displayed kits sent to the Russian military and continue to supply themselves with Starlink products, according to images released in March.

Soldiers of the 71st Jaeger Brigade destroyed a Starlink terminal at Russian positions with an FPV drone
@liveukraine_media pic.twitter.com/gatissaksh
— Oriannalyla 🇺🇦 (@Lyla_lilas) February 21, 2024

Starlink Kits potentially stored in Russia. // Source: X — Starlink kits potentially stored in Russia. // Source : X

A batch of kitstarlink photographed by supporters of the Russian army. // Source: Numerama / Telegram — A batch of Starlink kits photographed by Russian army supporters. // Source: Numerama / Telegram

SpaceX partners with the US military

SpaceX is the world's leading commercial satellite operator. The American army is taking advantage of this dominant position and the company's expertise to develop a parallel network of intelligence satellites. A contract worth 1.8 billion dollars (1.65 billion euros) concluded in 2021 was signed in 2021 with the Pentagon and SpaceX continues today to produce this system of reconnaissance devices, called Starshield.

Recently, American elected officials accused Elon Musk of blocking access to Starshield satellites in and around Taiwan, to protect Tesla's interests in China. The company has denied the accusations.