AMSTERDAM – A former senior Ukrainian defense official called on SpaceX to tighten controls on Starlink terminals that she said are reaching Russian forces through third-party countries or intermediaries.
Kateryna Chernohorenko, Ukraine’s deputy minister of defense from 2022 to 2025, told SpaceNews during the SmallSat Europe conference that “companies like SpaceX need to be more precise in how they sell terminals to end users connected to the Russian Federation.”
SpaceX does not offer Starlink service in Russia, though the satellite internet service has been used by both Russian and Ukrainian forces throughout the war, especially to coordinate drone strikes.
“Russia works through allied countries, for example Kazakhstan, which can be used as a proxy for Starlink terminals. SpaceX needs to verify who the end users are and where those terminals are operating at all times.”
Chernohorenko argued that geolocation data makes it possible for SpaceX to identify suspicious terminal activity. Terminals registered to entities outside Russia but operating repeatedly in occupied Ukrainian territories such as Crimea or the Donbas could indicate use by Russian forces, she said.
She compared satellite communications restrictions to existing sanctions regimes covering advanced sensors, cameras and other high-tech components. “The same principle should apply to satellite communications providers,” she added.
A backbone for military comms
Starlink has become a critical communications backbone for Ukraine’s military and civilian infrastructure since Russia’s 2022 invasion. But it’s also generated controversy over battlefield restrictions and reports of Russian military access to terminals.
In September 2022, Starlink services were temporarily disrupted following concerns over how the system was being used in combat operations. The network had initially been intended to support civilian infrastructure and battlefield communications.
However, Ukrainian forces also began using Starlink to coordinate drone operations in Crimea and the Kherson region, prompting restrictions in some areas.
Then in February 2026, following complaints about Russian drones using Starlink from Ukraine’s defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Elon Musk posted on social media “Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked. Let us know if more needs to be done.”
Chernohorenko said one solution could be more restrictions.
“This is not really about restricting users themselves, but about geolocation controls on Starlink,” she added. “There are already restrictions related to geolocation and speed. For example, in some occupied territories of Ukraine, Starlink does not work above certain speeds. A drone typically moves at around 200 kilometers per hour, and in those conditions the service will stop functioning.”
Missing European capabilities
Ukraine currently uses more than 70,000 Starlink terminals and remains heavily dependent on the network for logistical and military communications. Since the beginning of the war, several European countries have supported Ukraine’s satellite communications capabilities, with Germany leading contributions, followed by Poland, Finland, the United Kingdom and France, she said.
Still, Chernohorenko argued that Europe lacks several critical capabilities that continue to make SpaceX an indispensable partner.
“Europe is a strong partner for Ukraine, but it needs a space coalition to close some of the operational gaps in our armed forces,” she said.
Chernohorenko said Europe still lacks structures needed for military space resilience, including protected communications systems, sovereign launch infrastructure and low-cost satellite production capacity.
“The next step is sovereignty in orbital capabilities,” she said. “Ukraine is not just a country that needs help. Ukraine is part of the collective security of the European continent. I believe the next war will also involve the space domain, and we must be ready for that.”
