CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk says his company appears to have succeeded on Sunday in stopping Russia from “unauthorized” use of Starlink internet systems in Ukraine.
Starlink units supported Ukrainian forces throughout the invasion, but Russian forces also captured many units. Musk’s company was working to prevent Russian forces from using the captured devices, and Ukrainian officials now say they are working to prevent long-term Russian access.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said kyiv was developing a system that would allow only authorized Starlink terminals to operate on Ukrainian territory.
“Ukraine, with Starlink, has already taken the first steps which have brought rapid results in counter Russian drones,” he wrote on X.
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Elon Musk says SpaceX managed to exclude Russia from Starlink. (Getty Images)
“The next step is to implement a system that will only allow authorized terminals to operate on the territory of Ukraine”, he added.
He confirmed reports that Ukraine has seen Russian drones operating over Ukrainian cities via Starlink connectivity. Officials immediately contacted SpaceX for solutions, and Fedorov thanked Musk in a separate statement.
“It appears that the steps we took to stop Russia’s unauthorized use of Starlink have worked. Let us know if more needs to be done,” Musk responded on X.
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Ukrainian forces used Starlink connectivity throughout the Russian invasion. (Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The Starlink battle takes place as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday that a new round of peace talks would take place this week. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the United States will be present.
“Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we want to ensure that the outcome brings us closer to a real and worthy end to the war,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doubts Russia’s sincerity in peace talks. (Timothy A. Clara/AFP via Getty Images)
Zelensky said on Thursday that main obstacles to a peace agreement remain unresolved, notably the future of the occupied Ukrainian territory and Moscow’s claims concerning the lands it has not conquered.
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“I don’t believe Russia wants to end the war. There is plenty of evidence to the contrary,” Zelensky said Thursday.
Reuters contributed to this report.