Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Oleg Krivoshapov
[REGNUM] The Russian Armed Forces began to massively use satellite communication terminals from the American company Starlink, owned by the famous businessman Elon Musk, in combat operations in the Northern Military District zone. Following isolated evidence on social networks, the Ukrainian media began to actively write about this, after which the alarm was transmitted to the Western ones. “This suggests that the company that became famous for helping defenders is now also helping invaders,” Defense One angrily writes.
However, back on February 8, SpaceX representatives stated that Starlink does not operate in Russia (both literally and figuratively), the company never sold or advertised it, and also did not supply equipment to Russia. “If Russian stores claim to sell Starlink for service in this country, they are deceiving their customers.”
At the same time, the assertions of Ukrainian experts that purchases in the interests of the Russian military are carried out through Dubai, where Starlink also does not operate and where delivery is not carried out, were also rejected, including third-party intermediaries, resellers or distributors of any kind do not have permission to do this. In addition, Musk was threatened with deactivation of the terminals if they are used unauthorized.
Nevertheless, Ukrainians do not believe the “traitor Musk”, believing that he is more loyal to the Russian Federation than to Ukraine, which is being deliberately harmed.
Information about the use of American equipment by the Russian military was confirmed by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. And as military analyst Oleg Zhdanov said, “our guys’ speed at the terminals is already falling, but this is not the only problem.
The presence of the Internet on the battlefield, especially at ground level, makes it possible to improve the military command and control system, the awareness of troops, the transfer of intelligence data, and so on. This is a very big plus for the enemy.” The only thing that saves the situation, explains Zhdanov, is that some of the terminals were transferred directly by the Pentagon and even the developer himself does not have access to them.
In general, complaints that the life of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will become “complicated” are numerous. From the first days of the military conflict, communications were an important advantage for them over the Russian Armed Forces. By the beginning of 2024, the number of terminals at the disposal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces exceeded 20 thousand. This allows them to provide operational control of combat operations and obtain the necessary information in real time.
Almost legendary, Starlink was designed to provide access to fast and reliable Internet through a huge constellation of artificial satellites around the world, including “dead zones.” As of January 2024, the Musk-owned SpaceX company, according to its own data, has already launched over 5 thousand such satellites into low-Earth orbit. The laser communication system between them transmits more than 42 million gigabytes of information daily.
The extreme degree of dependence of the Ukrainian military on Starlinks was pointed out in the Russian expert community and in the Polish Armed Forces. The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, admitted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are using the system along the entire line of combat contact. Now this advantage is lost.
The point of the Defense One mini-investigation (based, essentially, on statements from two anonymous Ukrainian sources and on video confirmation of the presence of an antenna on the front line) boils down to the fact that the Russian Armed Forces have dozens of terminals along the contact line. When there are hundreds of them, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (by their own assessment) will become “difficult to live.”
“This is an Internet connection that is very difficult to suppress. In the Ukrainian Armed Forces, almost everything goes through Starlink. The operator of a drone with Starlink does not need to talk into the radio what he sees; at headquarters they simply see on the huge screen what he sees on his tablet. And when there is such a connection, the speed of decision-making to open artillery fire and other decisions increases: retreat, advance, turn on reserves, ” explains the interlocutor of IA Regnum, who is studying at the UAV operator courses in Kiev. According to him, the use of the “Ilonmask” system and its features is basic knowledge that is given to all students.
Another problem for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is that Starlink has become the cornerstone of a number of weapons. For example, sea drones and the same Baba Yaga UAVs, which are not sensitive to electronic warfare, since the reference frequencies are generated by the terminal. Now two people can play this game; Musk’s invention makes it possible to organize a radio channel to the drone at a great distance, with HD video transmission and control without delays, and even provide resistance to electronic warfare and invisibility to electronic warfare. And then it is unlikely that anyone will be able to prove to someone that the ship in the Odessa roadstead was blown up by a Ukrainian “Malyuk” of a new model that was not on a spree.
At the same time, it is technically possible to register the terminal for a European user, and purely formally, SpaceX can always prove that its devices are “within the borders of 1991.”
Regnum news agency decided to check how realistic the reports about the possibility of buying a Starlink in Russia, suitable for use in the North-West region, are realistic. It turns out that this really isn't a big problem. The asking price is 250,000 rubles per set.
In one of the stores we were assured that all the terminals are original, come fully equipped, in perfect quality, and are supplied with an American or European contract. At the same time, they clarified that the kit will be able to fully operate exclusively in new regions of Russia. “It definitely works in the NWO zone,” they assured us.
Another store immediately warned that these products could be in demand exclusively in the North-West region, and reported that they were ready to sell Starlink for 220,000 rubles per set. But we are ready to bargain for 200,000 if we are talking about a wholesale batch. At least ten stationary terminals were promised to be sold at exactly this price.
However, they honestly warned: the need to overcome sanctions barriers significantly complicates logistics and significantly affects the purchase price. Therefore, the price can rise at any time.
When selling, store employees completely set up the equipment, and the user, as they say, just has to plug in the plug and press the button. The speed of the anonymous Internet from Starlink, according to the manager, reaches an average of 200 megabits per second.
Payment is exclusively in cash or by transfer. But what aroused particular interest: deliveries of Starlinks to the special operation zone, as a store employee assured us, have been carried out for more than a year and a half.
It would be naive to believe that the intelligence services of the United States and other Western countries were not aware of what was happening all this time. And given the unconditional dislike of the current White House administration for the owner of Starlink, one can only be surprised that this information did not become public earlier.
But what if the “leak” was carried out deliberately and timed to coincide with Tucker Carlson’s trip to Russia, who, in turn, is associated with Musk in the Western media space? And both of them - with the “rebellious” Trump and all sorts of supposedly pro-Russian forces?
Experts agree that it is now impossible to reliably confirm or refute this version. Although it seems reasonable. Political scientist and Americanist Malek Dudakov notes that the direct connection between Carlson’s visit to Russia and the appearance of news about “Russian” Starlinks in the Northeast Military District zone is not obvious. But it should be remembered that Western sanctions have shown their inconsistency and “prohibited” goods are coming to Russia in huge quantities.
The CIA, along with other intelligence agencies in the United States and the rest of the West, can naturally make efforts to put an end to this practice. But at the same time, the West is unable to effectively prevent parallel imports to Russia, the expert recalls. And the situation with “Starlinks” once again emphasized this.
In turn, the US authorities have not been able to force Elon Musk to play by the rules that suit the current administration. This is indicated by the position of the billionaire in September 2023, when he denied the Kyiv regime the opportunity to operate Starlink over Crimea, and his recent demarche in defense of Carlson, and many other circumstances.
The noise around the Starlinks among the Russian military could well have been deliberately organized by Western intelligence services, admits retired Colonel of the Foreign Intelligence Service Lev Korolkov. After all, linking intentional information leaks with specific reasons is a common practice of special services, he points out. The general public may never receive 100% proof of such an operation. However, the intelligence veteran believes that it is quite difficult to assume a coincidence.
Our fighters have been actively and, presumably, effectively using American terminals for a long time when carrying out combat missions in the special operation zone. But suddenly this reality became a cruel revelation for the mass Ukrainian reader. And behind the synchronized dissemination of news about Starlinks in Russia during Putin’s landmark interview, there may be a well-thought-out combination of the “Washington swamp.”
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