Starlink block: Elon Musk is involved in the Ukraine war

Elon Musk’s influence on the war in Ukraine is great. Just two days after the start of the Russian war of aggression, he made Starlink, his globally unique satellite network, available to Ukraine. The low altitude – 550 kilometers above the Earth – and the large number of satellites make Starlink Internet fast and resistant to cyberattacks. Capabilities essential to Ukraine’s drone-based defense.

But the Russian army also uses the satellite network. In contrast to western sanctions Russia imports Starlink terminals through a network of intermediaries from the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, but also the Netherlands. These pizza box-sized satellite dishes are necessary for on-site reception of the satellite network.

Russia uses the technology not only for communication at the front, but also for Terror against the Ukrainian civilian population. Starlink equipped ones Long-range drones are precise and difficult to combat. They regularly break into residential buildings and kill people. At the end of January there was a precision strike on a moving regional train carrying 300 passengers.

Musk’s power in space

Over 9000 Starlink satellites today revolve around Earth’s orbit. This means that the private entrepreneur controls Musk 65% of all satellites in space. However, the final capacity is far from being reached. SpaceX wants to increase its network to over 40,000 satellites in the next few years.

Elon Musk has set a precedent. His power in space gives him an influence that allows him to significantly influence wars. Ukraine must therefore rely on the decisions of an eccentric billionaire in its defensive battle. Even when he’s up X There is always sentiment against Ukraine and its government, he assured the attacked country of continued cooperation.

In the past, Ukraine asked Musk’s space company to make it more difficult for Russia to access the satellite network. Also the Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski now commented on it. In a public exchange on X, he accused Musk of “profiting from war crimes” and called on him to disconnect the Russian terminals from the network. Musk responded that Starlink is “the backbone of communications” for the Ukrainian armed forces.

While he made Starlink available to Ukraine for free at the beginning of the war, Musk is now paying for the use of the network. The Ukrainian armed forces use tens of thousands of devices. The costs for this are in the hundreds of millions per year.

Big blow for Russian army

Musk’s show of force on X was now followed by action. In recent days, Musk has severely restricted Russia’s access to Starlink. Only registered devices on Ukrainian territory should be able to access the network. Ukraine is working on a corresponding one “Whitelist”. reported on Thursday Serhiy Beskrestnovthe recently appointed adviser to the Ukrainian defense minister, has had initial successes. He said the shutdown of Starlink was “not just a problem, but a catastrophe” for the Russian armed forces.

The look into the Telegram channels of Russian military bloggers seems to confirm that. Accordingly, Russian soldiers reported that not only were drones failing, but the communications of entire units were severely affected. Since there are currently no alternatives on the Russian side, the Starlink operation is likely to be one serious blow to the Kremlin mean.

Although Ukraine’s defense is strengthened by Musk’s current course, Musk also repeatedly made decisions to the detriment of Ukraine. Musk is limiting Starlink access around Crimea and in Russian-occupied territories.

Those too Ukrainian counteroffensive 2022 was hampered by Starlink network outages. A Reuters report suggests that SpaceX deliberately brought this about. Musk publicly denied these allegations. Reports that US negotiators were using Ukraine’s Starlink access as leverage to reach an agreement in the US-Ukrainian Mineraliendeal Musk also denied this.

Arms race in space

The dominant market position of his space company gives the world’s richest man leverage that is otherwise only available to state actors. He navigates SpaceX through a tense relationship. On the one hand, the former’s own, often unpredictable, political positions and U-turns Trump allies. On the other hand, the commercial interests of his companies.

Meanwhile, SpaceX has also secured a central position in the US military. In the Arms race in space supports that Pentagon on a collaboration with Musk. That too Federal Army will send satellites into space with the help of SpaceX from 2027.