Elon Musk said on Sunday that measures taken by SpaceX to prevent Russia from using its Starlink satellite internet service without authorization appear to be effective.
“Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X. He added that SpaceX is open to taking further action if needed.
The comments come as Ukraine intensifies efforts to block Russian forces from exploiting Western technology on the battlefield. Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials said they were working closely with SpaceX after discovering that Starlink terminals had been found on long-range Russian drones used in attacks on Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, said Kyiv is cooperating with SpaceX to ensure the satellite network cannot be used to guide Russian drones.
“Western technology must continue to help the democratic world and protect civilians, rather than being used for terrorism and the destruction of peaceful cities,” Fedorov said in a post on X.
Starlink has become a critical communications tool for Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, enabling secure battlefield connectivity and supporting some drone operations. Despite occasional public disagreements between Musk and Ukrainian officials over the war, Ukraine’s military continues to rely on tens of thousands of Starlink terminals.
The system has also given Musk significant geopolitical influence. In 2022, he acknowledged that SpaceX exercised control over how and where Starlink services could be used by Ukrainian forces during the conflict. Photo by Wikideas1, Wikimedia commons.
