9 September 202

Nowhere has access to the Starlink satellite internet network, developed by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, been in quite as much demand as in the war zone in Ukraine, as it has proven to be a lifeline for Ukrainian forces in the war, after Russia disrupted internet and telephone services in the regions near the front line.

Despite its CEO’s questionable stance on the war, SpaceX donated hundreds of portable satellite internet terminals to Ukraine in 2022, which allow anyone to access the internet from anywhere in the world, simply by connecting the terminal and pointing it skyward.

However, since May there have been reports in the international press that the Russian military has been using Starlink terminals in the war zone itself.

The “enormously valuable” terminals, according to US Senator Elizabeth Warren, “provide Russia with secure communications that they sorely need, which would significantly erode Ukraine’s advantage on the battlefield,” urging the Department of Defence to hold SpaceX accountable for Russia’s illegal use of Starlink.

Asked how the US-made terminals, which serve both civilian and military purposes, could have ended up in Russian hands, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Space and Missile Defense John D. Hill pointed to Russia’s “long-standing experience operating black markets”...

Describing the allegations as “categorically false” in February, Musk stressed that “no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia”. Yet an investigation by Novaya Gazeta Europe demonstrates that not all licensed Starlink suppliers have taken the necessary precautions to ensure that they are not unwittingly part of that very “black market” Russians have allegedly learnt to leverage so well.

Indeed, by contacting several official Starlink dealers who resell terminals acquired directly from the manufacturer, Novaya Europe has found that many agreed to supply them to companies based in countries bordering Russia, without any concern about who the end customer would be, or for what purposes these bulk orders would be used...