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Russia using own version of Starlink for military comms over Ukraine, Kyiv says

Ukraine says Rassvet is giving Russian drones real-time data links, with GUR saying the network now has 32 satellites but still covers Ukraine only intermittently.

  • On Wednesday, Russia submitted a formal filing to the International Telecommunication Union for the Rassvet-4 constellation, while Ukrainian military intelligence confirmed Moscow is already using the network for military communications over Ukraine.
  • Moscow seeks a domestic alternative to Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink, which operates in Ukraine but not in Russia, after Kyiv successfully lobbied to disable grey-market terminals used by Russian forces earlier this year.
  • Designed with 374 satellites orbiting approximately 800 kilometers above Earth in 17 orbital planes, the Rassvet-4 network is being developed by Bureau 1440 using Chinese components to eventually support more than 900 satellites by 2035.
  • GUR spokesman Andrii Yusov stated the system allows real-time data exchange for strike drones, noting it "could increase the effectiveness of strike and reconnaissance UAVs and make it more difficult for electronic warfare" to intercept them.
  • President Volodymyr Zelenskiy imposed sanctions last week on 10 companies involved in the state-backed project, including Bureau 1440, as the Main Intelligence Directorate continues monitoring the network's ongoing development despite current coverage limitations.
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The members of the Scientific and Expert Council of the Russian Security Council stated that Starlink and OneWeb satellite services posed risks of destabilization of the socio-political situation in sovereign States. Members of the Bureau of the Scientific and Expert Council of the Russian Security Council held a meeting on the use of a domestic low-orbit satellite communications and Internet access system for the country's information security,…

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Western low-orbit satellite communications systems Starlink and OneWeb are being used to destabilize the socio-political situation in sovereign countries and announced to the press service of the Russian Security Council on Friday." A meeting was held among the members of the Bureau of the Scientific and Expert Council of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on the use of the domestic low-orbit satellite communications system and acces…

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UNN broke the news in Kyiv, Ukraine on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
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