The Defense Department is working with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to find and disable Starlink satellite internet terminals that have fallen into Russian hands, but the problem is not going away, a top Pentagon official said Tuesday.
SpaceX’s Starlink terminals enabled Ukrainian forces to communicate with each other and with their families after Russia’s 2022 invasion had shut down Ukraine’s internet and telephone services. But The Wall Street Journal reported in April that thousands of Starlink terminals have migrated to the black market, where Russia has obtained them and is using them to aid its operations in Ukraine.
Russia’s use of the system has reportedly slowed and disrupted the service for Ukrainians. Other U.S. foes and war criminals in the Mideast, Africa and Southeast Asia have also obtained the terminals, according to the report.
