Pentagon says it has stopped Russians from using Starlink terminals

Pentagon officials have stopped the unauthorised use of Starlink Internet terminals by the Russian military, according to the head of the Ministry of Defence's space policy, Bloomberg reports.

The United States is "actively working with the government of Ukraine and SpaceX to counter Russia's illegal use of Starlink terminals," said Assistant Secretary for Space Policy John Plumb.

Earlier, it was reported that the Russian military freely buys Starlink terminals from SpaceX, the equipment is sold in at least 10 Russian stores and is supplied from the US, Europe, UAE, Canada, Germany, China and Kazakhstan. This was found out by specialists from the Ukrainian OSINT agency Molfar, who studied the Russian market for the sale of such equipment and spoke directly with sellers of satellite terminals.

It was noted that Starlink operates only near the Ukrainian border, and personal accounts of the devices are connected to the network through Poland. However, there are videos online, for example, from Volgograd, where the Starlink satellite signal works perfectly. According to a review in one of the stores, Starlink works well in the Republic of Altai.

A number of sellers also write that the terminals will work in the occupied Crimea, although there may be interruptions in the signal. In private conversations, Russian Starlink sellers say that the terminals still do not work in the centre of Russia.

Background. Bloomberg previously reported that Starlink terminals are being sold on the black market. SpaceX does nothing about it, but promises some countries that it will work with them to ensure that its services do not reach certain areas.

There have also been reports that the Pentagon cannot force SpaceX to block Starlink for Russians, as it is a commercial product and Russia can easily buy it on the black market.