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Ukraine relies on Starlink for its drone war. Russia appears to be bypassing sanctions to use the devices too

Ukrainian troops say they are experiencing problems with the vital Starlink internet service, used to run Kyiv’s attack drones, and report increased Russian use of the devices.

Ukrainian front-line troops say they are experiencing connection problems with the vital Starlink internet service, owned by Elon Musk and used to run Kyiv’s fleet of attack drones, while also reporting an increase in Russian use of the devices, despite this being prohibited by US sanctions. A Pentagon spokesman, Jeff Jurgensen, referred questions to the Ukrainian government, saying: “While we’re aware of the reporting on this issue, and we’d expect Russia may attempt to leverage any technology that might give them an operational advantage against Ukraine, we have no additional details or information to provide.” Democrats on the US Congressional Oversight Committee have written to Starlink demanding an urgent briefing on Russian use of the devices, expressing their “grave concern” that Moscow is using the terminals in occupied Ukraine, in contravention of US sanctions.

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