Russia has a serious problem. After months using SpaceX terminals purchased on the black market, a new agreement between the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and Elon Musk’s company has blocked general connectivity for Russian forces. Putin’s soldiers have started playing dirty.
The big problem with this country is that it does not have anything similar to Starlink. Their satellite communication systems are slower, of poor quality and very easy to intercept. Therefore, Musk’s service has become an urgent need.
With this as a basis, and according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Russia is using captured Ukrainian soldiers as bargaining chips to get the connection.
Specifically, they are contacting the families of prisoners of war to threaten them and demand that they register Starlink terminals in their names. Taking into account that SpaceX systems only work if they are on a white list linked to a Ukrainian identity, the Russians have looked for a way to get hold of them.
To register one of these devices, Ukrainian citizens must use their personal identification. If a family gives in to blackmail to try to save the prisoner and registers the terminal, that serial number is linked to their name.
However, the big problem comes now. If Ukraine’s intelligence services track that Starlink and see that it is being used against them, the citizen who registered it faces criminal charges for treason and collaboration with the enemy..
A situation that puts Russia in check, but from which it knows how to take very good advantage
The situation for Moscow is so critical that they are even paying $230 for each terminal registration. It may seem like little, but if you extrapolate it to the current situation in Ukraine, it is a lot of money. For Ukrainian families it seems an offer that is difficult to refuse, taking into account the situation of one of their captured members.
Telegram has become the perfect space to complain about this situation in Russia. Many soldiers here complain that most units do not have internet access. Moscow criticized for allowing the army to rely on Western technology when the United States and Europe are supporting Ukraine.
One of these soldiers who write on this platform, under the alias Belarusian Silovikhas stated that it will soon become clear that the units cannot operate without these communications and that this will be a hard blow for his country. Without Starlink, the Russian military returns to low quality and systems that the Ukrainians intercept on the spot.
Hence all this movement. However, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has been very clear and there will be no mercy for those who register equipment that later ends up in Russian hands. They warn that an illegally registered Starlink ultimately causes more deaths.
Each terminal has a unique identifier that is tracked in real time. If the equipment appears in an area under Russian control in operation, the Ukrainian security police will go directly to the door of the person who put their name on the registration contract.
Ukraine is not lacking in reason; However, it seems that the families’ situation and their desperation is completely understandable.