Active Starlink Terminals Reach the Russian Military Despite Blocking

Russian troops in Ukraine continue to use the internet thanks to Starlink, despite efforts to block the terminals.

Verstka media outlet’s journalists investigated how Starlink terminals are reaching the Russian military.

It turned out that ads from sellers of such devices are actively circulating on Telegram channels.

To do this, Ukrainian citizens register the terminals in their own names.

After that, Starlink is mailed to another person within the country for onward shipment to Moscow via third countries.

At the same time, in some cases, the terminals may still be disabled.

A Russian soldier told Verstka that they “bought ‘white’ Starlink terminals,” but only “a few” of them actually worked in the end.

The Security Service of Ukraine is actively countering attempts by Russian intelligence services to use Starlink terminals on the front lines by detaining Ukrainian citizens who register equipment for the occupiers.

Captured Starlink

Ukrainian radio technology expert Serhii Flash reported that Starlink terminals also end up in Russian hands via captured Ukrainian drones.

Recently, the Ukrainian military captured a Russian drone equipped with a Starlink terminal that had previously been seized by the invaders from a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle.

“A drone with a Starlink terminal flew into our military’s hands. Unlike other UAVs, it was clear that it was operational. An inspection revealed that this Starlink had previously been installed on our drone,” Flash said.

Serhii Flash noted that in such cases, the Ukrainian military should submit a request to deactivate the Starlink terminal if it is no longer possible to recover it.