Ukraine is working directly with SpaceX to tackle reports that Russian long-range unmanned aerial vehicles are being fitted with Starlink satellite terminals, the country’s defence minister said on Thursday. The statement followed social media posts showing the wreckage of several long-range drones, and a defence ministry adviser’s claim that the devices were being used to guide strikes on Ukrainian targets.
Defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov thanked SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Elon Musk for a prompt response, saying on the Telegram messaging app that the company had begun addressing the issue. The minister’s message echoed concerns raised publicly by Serhiy Beskrestnov, a newly appointed adviser to the defence minister, who over recent days posted multiple photographs of destroyed Russian long-range drones, including Shaheds, with Starlink units still attached.
Beskrestnov said there had been "hundreds" of instances in which Russian drones equipped with Starlink had attacked Ukrainian targets. He warned that Starlink-enabled systems, which are resistant to conventional signal jamming, were being used to manually pilot drones into Ukrainian positions.
Ukraine employs tens of thousands of Starlink terminals across the battlefield for communications and for piloting drones. The units are prized for providing a stable connection in combat zones and for their robustness against enemy jamming efforts. SpaceX activated Starlink service over Ukraine in 2022 after Kyiv requested support in the initial period following Russia’s full-scale invasion. The company does not provide Starlink service within Russia.
The defence ministry’s announcement frames the situation as an operational challenge for both Kyiv and SpaceX to address together. Details on the technical measures under discussion were not provided in the public statements, and official comments limited themselves to confirming that collaboration had begun.
Context and next steps
The public comments signal Kyiv’s intent to work with a private satellite operator to resolve an issue arising from the battlefield use of commercial communications gear. The limited information released so far indicates coordination is underway but does not outline specific countermeasures or a timeline for resolution.