Starlink terminals are being sold, shipped, and used in occupied Ukraine through a complex black market that also stretches as far as Sudan, The Wall Street Journal reported.
President Vladimir Putin’s forces are regularly using the technology, developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to coordinate attacks in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, with the help of a complex informal network of black market sellers and Russian volunteers, the outlet reported.
The easy-to-activate hardware provided Ukraine with a boost early in Russia’s full-scale invasion, but according to the Journal, Putin’s forces have succeeded this year in bringing it to the battlefield at scale, despite numerous restrictions.
Reports of Starlink’s use in conflict — by both Ukraine and Russia — highlight the difficulties faced by tech companies in navigating complex geopolitics.
The Journal also reported that a similar black market is also thriving in Sudan, even though the terminals’ use is not authorized there.
Terminals are activated in Dubai, and then shipped into Sudan via either Chad or South Sudan, the newspaper reported. Hundreds of terminals have entered the hands of the Rapid Support Forces, an anti-government paramilitary there, the paper found.
SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company, did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment, sent outside working hours.
In Russia, per the Journal, sellers buy the terminals abroad — including from the US — or on eBay, and then smuggle them into the country, before they are transferred by volunteers to Russian troops in Ukraine.
In early February, Musk pushed back on claims from Ukrainian military intelligence that the terminals were being systematically used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
“To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia,” Musk wrote on X.
Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation, Mikhailo Fedorov, said that it was working with SpaceX to address the issue.
House Democrats have also pressured Musk to take action, saying Russian military use of the tech is “potentially in violation of US sanctions and export controls.”
Yet according to the Journal, online retailers in Russia openly advertise the technology, at times linking directly to US sellers on eBay.
Starlink has the ability to “geofence” devices to prevent their use in countries where they are unauthorized, as well as having the power to switch off individual terminals. But sellers in Russia say that Crimea and occupied Ukraine are not under such control, the outlet reported.
Musk has long sought to limit Starlink’s military use, stipulating in the technology’s terms of service that it is intended for civilians only.
Last year, the company said it was trying to limit Ukraine’s military use of the terminals, the Journal reported, and in September, Musk’s biographer revealed the billionaire had earlier in the conflict blocked Ukraine’s use of Starlink near Crimea, foiling the country’s plans for an attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
