Russian forces are obtaining Starlink terminals illegally from third countries and increasing their use at the front, a spokesman for Ukraine’s intelligence service said today, quoted by Reuters, without providing evidence.
Army representative Andriy Yusov also said that work is currently underway to counter the use of the terminals by Russia in the occupied parts of Ukraine.
This happens a few days before the two-year anniversary of the invasion of Russian forces into the country, notes Reuters.
Ukraine, which uses Starlink for military communications in its conflict with Russia, said for the first time on Sunday that Russian troops were using the system in areas of Ukraine under their control.
Previously, Elon Musk, who is the CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), has disputed reports of selling Starlink communications terminals to Russia.
A number of false news reports claim that SpaceX is selling Starlink terminals to Russia.
This is categorically false.
To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 11, 2024
However, Musk called those reports “categorically false.”
“To our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia,” stressed Musk in a post on his social media platform X.
“A number of fake news claims that SpaceX is selling Starlink terminals to Russia. This is categorically false.” he wrote.
And the Kremlin denies
The Kremlin said today that the Starlink satellite internet system was neither certified for use nor officially delivered to Russia and therefore could not be used by it, Reuters reported.
“This is not a certified system in our country. Therefore, it cannot be officially supplied here. Therefore, it cannot in any way be officially used.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
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