Since 2023, a lot of data has emerged about the use of Starlink Internet by Russian occupation forces along the front line. This is creates certain problems for the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said he had discussed the issue with SpaceX founder Elon Musk before it became public.
«We looked at and analyzed a case that took place in Israel when the conflict in Gaza escalated just now. How they got out of this situation. We found a suitable algorithm, offered it to SpaceX, and now we have a clear communication on how to make sure that there are no similar cases», — said Fedorov.
He added that SpaceX has the ability to disable Starlink terminals in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, *[but it would also be catastrophic for us».
*We need Starlink to work there because they use certain technologies that are important to us as well. They are related to drones. There is another way to make our Starlink work, and Starlink, which essentially appear there in a different way, does not work. And so we are working with SpaceX»,” the minister emphasized.
At the same time, Fedorov does not believe that there is a connection between the fact that the Russian army has Starlink terminals and the way Elon Musk is currently commenting on the Russian-Ukrainian war.
*It was logical that they would start buying and importing them through third countries. They had Starlink, they were already importing them, it’s just that now it’s become public, there are a little more of them. That is, someone, probably one of their entrepreneurs, started monetizing it, and it took on a life of its own. Technologically, we need to turn off the Starlink they use and make sure that ours continues to work,” Fedorov added.
Source: suspilne