Ukraine working with SpaceX to stop Russian drones' use of Starlink, Kyiv says

Ukraine is working with U.S. satellite firm SpaceX to resolve the issue of Russian drones using the Starlink satellite internet system, the defence minister said on Thursday, after recent reports of Starlinks being found on Russian long-range UAVs in Ukraine.

The statement came after a defence ministry adviser raised concerns that Russia was using Starlinks, which are almost impervious to traditional signal jamming, to manually fly drones into Ukrainian targets.

"We are grateful to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and personally to Elon Musk for the quick response and the start of work on resolving the situation," Ukraine's defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Serhiy Beskrestnov, a newly appointed adviser to Fedorov, had previously posted multiple pictures on social media over the past several days of the wreckage of long-range Russian drones, including Shaheds, with Starlink satellites attached.

On Thursday, Beskrestnov said there had been "hundreds" of cases where Starlink-enabled Russian drones had attacked Ukrainian targets.

Ukraine uses tens of thousands of Starlinks for battlefield communication and for piloting drones. They are favoured for their stable connection on the battlefield and for their resistance to enemy signal jamming.

SpaceX turned on Starlink service over Ukraine in 2022 after Kyiv pleaded for help in the first days following Russia's full-scale invasion. It does not provide Starlink service in Russia.

-Max Hunder and Dan Peleschuk/Reuters