Kremls Starlink-varning till Musk: ”Vore farligt”

In February 2022, SpaceX activated their Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, to replace internet and communication networks degraded or destroyed during the war. Starlink provides critical service to Ukrainian civilians, government and military. It has aided humanitarian relief as well as defense and counterattacks on Russian positions. Initially, SpaceX provided and funded Starlink services to Ukraine without charge. As of June 2023 Starlink expenses for Ukraine were covered by the US Department of Defense. As of December 2023, Poland was the largest contributor of terminals. SpaceX did not extend Starlink availability to Russian-occupied areas such as Crimea. In 2022, Elon Musk denied a Ukrainian request to extend Starlink's coverage up to Russian-occupied Crimea during a counterattack on a Crimean port; providing service would have violated US sanctions. Media reports erroneously characterized it as Musk "turning off" Starlink coverage in Crimea. In late 2022, SpaceX announced Starshield, a program designed for government customers. The use of Starlink to attack Russian targets was criticized by Russian officials. Russia's military repeatedly tried to disrupt Starlink services. Reportedly, the Russian military at one point obtained Starlink terminals through other countries. This unauthorized Starlink use was eventually blocked. In February 2026, Starlink eliminated service to all terminals in Ukraine not on a whitelist, in order to prevent Russia's fraudulent Starlink use. This significantly disrupted Russian military communications, which had come to rely on Starlink.