The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Russians have begun using drones equipped with Starlink communication systems to strike Ukrainian cities. The team of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine contacted SpaceX and proposed ways to solve this problem.
Minister of Defense of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov reported this on January 29.
“A few hours after Russian drones with Starlink communication appeared over Ukrainian cities, the Ministry of Defense team promptly contacted SpaceX and proposed ways to solve this issue”, — the statement says.
Elon Musk’s company promptly responded and began working to address the situation.
“I am grateful to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and personally to Elon Musk for their quick reaction and for beginning work on resolving the situation. Elon Musk’s decision to urgently activate Starlink and send the first batch of terminals to Ukraine at the start of the full-scale invasion was critically important for our country’s resilience.
Western technologies must continue to help the democratic world and protect civilians, not be used for terror and the destruction of peaceful cities”, — the minister wrote.
At the end of December 2025, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that Russians had adapted the FPV drone “Molniya” for aerial reconnaissance by installing a Starlink terminal and a camera with three-axis stabilization.
At that time, the War&Sanctions portal published an interactive diagram of the components and electronic parts of the Russian UAV “Molniya-2R”.
In particular, DIU reported the adaptation of the Russian fixed-wing FPV drone “Molniya-2R”, in which a Starlink satellite terminal was identified.
According to DIU, this terminal is not used for navigation, but as a data transmission channel — for video feed, telemetry, and drone control commands.
The War&Sanctions materials specifically mention the component — Starlink UTA-231 — identified in this UAV.
HUR emphasized that such integration allows the enemy to maintain stable communication beyond the radio horizon and reduces the effectiveness of short-range electronic warfare systems.
Since late 2025, the enemy has started massively deploying “Molniya” drones with Starlink terminals as reconnaissance and strike UAVs on the frontline.
“The Starlink issue is complicated. It cannot be jammed by EW. For a GLOBAL solution, only active assistance from SpaceX is needed, and not at the level of what the Ministry of Defense or Armed Forces can do”, — said well-known drone and EW expert Serhii (“Flash”) Beskrestnov, who soon after became an adviser to the Minister of Defense on technological issues.
By mid-January, the use of Starlink for control had also been recorded on the Russian BM-35 UAV.
“Today, for the first time, we recorded control of a BM-35 UAV via Starlink. Before this, Starlink had only been seen on ‘Molniya’ drones. When Shaheds begin flying with Starlink, it’s only a matter of time — and perhaps even days, not months.\
This is a big problem for us. UAVs with this type of control are not susceptible to EW and hit their targets precisely under an operator’s control from Russia”, — Flash emphasized.
Soon the enemy began using Starlink-equipped strike drones not only against military but also against civilian targets.
“We already have confirmed attacks by Starlink-equipped UAVs not on military facilities, but on peaceful rear and frontline cities — including residential buildings. This is essentially terrorism using modern global communication technologies”, — Serhii Beskrestnov reported.
Commenting on Mykhailo Fedorov’s message about contacting SpaceX, the adviser to the Minister of Defense noted:
“Starlink cannot be suppressed with EW, nor can its position in flight be determined with ELINT equipment, so we understood from the start that the main solution is organizational.
This issue requires discussions with SpaceX leadership and joint search for a solution. We are very grateful to Elon Musk personally for his quick reaction and willingness to help.
We are receiving a comprehensive solution — both fast and temporary, and more systemic and long-term”.
