The Russian government has imposed a six-month ban on imports of foreign devices intended to receive and transmit signals from space communication satellites. The decree was signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The measure also covers Starlink terminals.
Starlink use in Russia
Officially, Starlink is not available in Russia. At the same time, the article says Russian military personnel actively used Starlink terminals to connect to the satellite network operating in Ukraine. These devices were brought into Russia through third countries.
What changed after authorization was introduced
In early February, SpaceX founder Elon Musk and the Ukrainian government introduced terminal authorization. Since then, only devices registered in the state registry have been able to operate in Ukraine.
After these restrictions were introduced, Ukrainian authorities reported a decline in the number of Russian assaults at the front.
How the blocks were bypassed
It later became known that Russian military personnel began bypassing Starlink blocks by verifying devices through front persons in Ukraine. In addition, according to statements by the Ukrainian authorities, Russian military personnel used threats to force the families of captured Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers to register Starlink terminals in their own names.
As the article states, Ukrainian security services began detaining citizens who were helping Russia authorize such devices.
The current situation at the front
At present, Russian military personnel say they have almost completely stopped using Starlink terminals at the front. According to them, paying for verification proved expensive and unreliable, since even a registered terminal can still be blocked.