Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and X. Photo: POOL / Getty images / Profimedia
The head of Polish diplomacy, Radoslaw Sikorski, on Tuesday asked Elon Musk, the head of the Starlink satellite telecommunications network, to cut off Russia's access to that service, which is used in its war against Ukraine, reports AFP.
“Hey big man @elonmusk why don't you stop the Russians from using Starlink to target Ukrainian cities? Making money off of war crimes hurts your image,” wrote Radoslaw Sikorski on his X account.
Russian drones, guided by Starlink terminals
Sikorski, who is also deputy prime minister in the pro-Ukrainian government of Poland, responded to a post by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) about Russia's military use of the Starlink network, reports Agerpres.
“Russian forces are increasingly using Starlink satellite systems to extend the range of their BM-35 attack drones in order to conduct medium-range attacks against Ukraine's rearguard,” ISW states.
“The alleged 500-kilometer range of the Starlink-connected BM-35 drones places most of Ukraine, all of Moldova, and parts of Poland, Romania, and Lithuania within range of these drones if launched from Russia or occupied Ukraine,” the institute adds.
According to Ukrainian intelligence services, the Starlink terminals obtained by the Russian military were acquired through parallel channels, such as imports by third countries, and not through an official sale by Elon Musk's company.
The billionaire denied in February 2024 that Starlink terminals were sold to Russia. A blanket shutdown of the Starlink system in Ukraine would be complicated by the fact that it is also widely used by the Ukrainian military for its communications.
Russia launches daily attack drones against Ukrainian troops on the front line, but also against energy infrastructures, the transport network and residential areas throughout Ukraine.
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Only during the night from Monday to Tuesday, a total of 165 Russian drones were launched against the country, of which 135 were shot down, according to the Ukrainian air defense.
Multibillionaire Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and a close ally of Donald Trump, said on March 9, 2025 that the entire front line in Ukraine would collapse if he shuts down Starlink satellite internet services for the Ukrainian military.
