Musk reveals how Russian forces got Starlink terminals — and how Ukraine shut them down
Photo: Elon Musk (Getty Images)
Billionaire Elon Musk said the Russian military obtained Starlink terminals through smuggling. The occupiers were cut off from the service after a "whitelist" system was introduced, according to the billionaire in an interview with The Economist.
Musk said Starlink has never sold terminals to Russians. According to him, the Russian military obtained them through smuggling.
"We were never at any point selling Starlink to Russians. What they essentially got Starlink units that they ordered through Ukraine, and then and then smuggled them into eastern Ukraine where the Russians are," Musk said.
He added that to address the issue, his company worked with the Ukrainian government to create a "whitelist" — a list of approved Starlink terminals.
"Now, this has some downsides, because a whole bunch of people who were just innocent users of Starlink and just trying to access the internet for work or for education, now don't have Starlink," the billionaire noted.
What happened before
Russian forces began using "gray" Starlink terminals on the battlefield as early as 2023. However, in early 2026, Russia began using drones equipped with the terminals to attack Ukraine, including to bypass Ukrainian air defenses and control its drones online.
The issue was later raised with Elon Musk by Ukraine's then-Defense Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov. On February 5, it became known that Ukraine had blocked unverified Starlink terminals.
Several hours later, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said the move had caused serious problems for Russian forces. In particular, the number of assaults dropped significantly after Russian units lost communications.
