Russian troops in Ukraine are using thousands of Starlink satellite communication terminals manufactured by Elon Musk's SpaceX, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview, UNN reports .
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Lieutenant General Kirill Budanov said that Russian troops had been communicating through the Starlink system for "quite a while" and had purchased terminals from private Russian firms that bought them from intermediaries.
Intermediaries, he said, supply equipment to Russia through neighboring countries, including former Soviet republics.
Russian troops have been communicating via Starlink on their front lines, but it is not known to what extent the terminals are being used.
Ukraine relies heavily on Starlink, saying that last year the military, hospitals, businesses, and humanitarian organizations used about 42,000 terminals, and the Pentagon helped fund access for Ukrainian forces.
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Starlink said it does not do any business in or with Russia. The company did not respond to an email earlier this week asking if it could categorically rule out the use of the system by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Retired British Army Brigadier Ben Barry said that if Russian troops use Starlink, their communications will be more secure and harder for Ukraine and its allies to hack.
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