The commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Vadym Sukharevskyi, said that Ukraine is actively working on finding an alternative to the Starlink satellite communication system for use in military operations around the occupied Crimea. According to him, such an alternative already exists, and there is an active dialogue on this issue.
In March 2023, in an interview with Deutsche Welle, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said that Ukraine uses about 42,000 Starlink terminals to ensure communication at the front and in critical infrastructure facilities. However, the use of Starlink is occasionally accompanied by scandals.
In September 2023, CNN reported that SpaceX founder Elon Musk's biography stated that he demanded his engineers shut down the Starlink network off the Crimean coast to hinder Ukrainian forces. Musk later denied this information, but admitted that he received a request from the Ukrainian authorities to activate Starlink to ensure communication on the way to Sevastopol.
Recently, rumors spread in Ukrainian social networks about the use of Starlink terminals by Russian troops at the front. Ukrainian intelligence has confirmed these rumors, although SpaceX has denied selling its terminals to the Russian military. Also, the US Department of Defense claims that it cannot block Starlink terminals from serving Russian troops.
