Russian drones with Starlink antennas: resistance already successful says Musk
SpaceX is already successfully taking action against the use of Starlink for Russian attacks on Ukraine. The praise from Kyiv is effusive.
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Just a few days after Ukraine contacted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk because Russian drones were being remotely controlled via Starlink, initial countermeasures are already showing effect. Musk announced this on Sunday on the microblogging service X and immediately received a confirming response from Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. He later explained there that only authorized Starlink antennas should function in Ukraine from now on, and users would have to authenticate theirs “in the coming days.” The remaining antennas are to be switched off, which should also prevent the Russian military from using them.
The background to the rapid countermeasures are reports of Russian drones on which Starlink antennas were found, which made the rounds last week. The Ukrainian government then contacted SpaceX and made solution proposals. However, which ones exactly were not made public. It is therefore unclear what has been implemented besides the restriction to authorized Starlink antennas. Musk had initially brusquely rejected criticism and also stated that the alleged use by Russia would violate Starlink's terms of service. This fits with him now saying that unauthorized use would now be prevented. He asks Kyiv to get in touch if more can be done.
Musk as a “true friend of the people in Ukraine”
Fedorov then assured that the initial steps would bring “real results.” They are working closely with SpaceX on “important further steps.” He thanked the US billionaire for his support and called him a “true hero of freedom and a true friend of the Ukrainian people.” They are currently suffering particularly, with thousands of apartment blocks in the bitterly cold, million-strong city of Kyiv being without heating for days. However, Russia has assured that it will not carry out attacks on energy facilities for now. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, these have instead shifted to other infrastructure.
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When Russia recently began using Starlink for attacks, a technology particularly important to Ukraine was being misused. Satellite internet has long since replaced a large part of the communication infrastructure that was destroyed by the fighting. Not only the country's troops rely on the technology functioning, but also hospitals, schools, and other institutions communicate via it. In total, Ukraine has received tens of thousands of the necessary antennas, the majority of which were supplied by Poland. At one point, Elon Musk had cast doubt on its reliability, but that has long been overcome.
(mho)
