TL:DR – Poland Accuses SpaceX’s Starlink of Aiding Russian Military Operations
• Poland’s Foreign Minister accused Elon Musk’s Starlink of enabling war crimes due to alleged Russian use.
• The Institute for the Study of War reported Russian forces using Starlink for drone operations.
• Ukraine’s defence ministry is collaborating with SpaceX to prevent unauthorised Starlink use.
• SpaceX denies selling Starlink to Russia and enforces restrictions against offensive military use.
• Experts suggest Russia may access Starlink through illicit means or capture.
• There is no evidence that Musk directly supplied Starlink services to Russian forces.
Fact check: Is Elon Musk allowing Russia to use Starlink to attack Ukraine?
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has accused Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink, of “making money on war crimes” following allegations that the technology was used by Russian forces to target Ukraine.
This accusation, made on 27 January, comes after fresh evidence from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicated that Russian forces were increasingly utilising Starlink systems to extend the range of their strike drones.
The implications of this accusation are significant, as they raise concerns about the use of technology in warfare and the responsibilities of service providers in conflict zones. Following these allegations, Ukraine’s defence ministry and Musk’s company, SpaceX, announced plans to collaborate on blocking Russian military access to Starlink.
Could this be start of the fall of Elon Musk
Starlink is a satellite internet network managed by Starlink Services, a subsidiary of SpaceX, and is operational in approximately 150 countries. It has been extensively utilised since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 for humanitarian and military purposes, with funding support from the US Department of Defence since June 2023.
The Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs is currently investing around $50 million (€42.4 million) annually to maintain Starlink services in Ukraine.
Musk has previously stated that Starlink is prohibited for offensive military operations under the company’s terms of service and has refused to activate it over Russian-occupied Crimea due to concerns about escalation. Despite these statements, experts have noted that Starlink technology can support long-range drone attacks and is resilient to jamming efforts by Ukrainian forces.
Russian access to Starlink
Reports indicating Russian access to Starlink services have emerged since 2024, with SpaceX asserting that it does not sell or transport Starlink to Russia and does not engage with the Russian government or military. However, Ukrainian officials claim evidence of “hundreds” of attacks by Russian drones equipped with Starlink terminals, which allows them to evade Ukraine’s electronic defence systems.
Melanie Garson, an associate professor at University College London, explained that there is evidence suggesting Russia may have obtained Starlink through illicit means, including capture or secondary markets. In response to the allegations, Ukraine’s defence ministry, led by Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, announced collaboration with SpaceX to implement a verification system restricting the use of Starlink to registered terminals within Ukraine.
Challenges in restricting access
Experts highlight that limiting Russian access to Starlink in the war zone is technically challenging, as it risks cutting off Ukrainian users as well. Geofencing technology could potentially restrict Starlink access to specific regions, but this becomes complicated on an ever-changing front line. Reports of Starlink outages in Ukraine may have stemmed from such geofencing efforts, which inadvertently affected Ukrainian users.
Ultimately, independent analysts assert that there is no direct evidence linking Musk or SpaceX to the provision of Starlink services to Russian forces. Instead, it appears that Russian troops are likely accessing Starlink terminals through capture or illegal markets.