Ukraine, Russia developing own alternatives to Starlink: Zelenskyy

Ukraine and Russia are both developing their own alternatives to Starlink, the satellite system used for battlefield communications whose access is ultimately controlled by tech titan Elon Musk, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Musk last year restricted Russian access to Starlink satellites over the Ukraine war. Experts say this has probably disrupted Russian forces' tactical command and restricted their offensive capacity.

"The Russians are building a Starlink equivalent together with the Chinese, and they believe they will have this project ready by December 2026," Zelenskyy said in remarks made public Sunday.


He added that Ukraine would not "just sit and wait for Russia and China" and was "implementing a similar project with a European country". "We have begun testing it," he said. Ukraine is seeking authorisation from Musk and the US administration to use Starlink satellites for operations in Russian territory. Musk has shifted his stance on Ukraine several times since Russia's invasion in 2022. Ukraine's contacts with him were reportedly handled by former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was recently ousted.

Zelenskyy said Musk believed allowing Starlink coverage over Russia would be an escalation, but Ukraine argued it could help shorten the conflict. "This really could lead to a reduction precisely in those capabilities that Russia uses to drag out the war," he said.

Zelensky said Kyiv was trying to hit Russian ballistic launchers, as Moscow has stepped up its use of the missiles, which can effectively only be destroyed by US-designed Patriot systems.

Ukraine had received 675 Patriot missiles in 2023, compared to 364 in 2025, and 264 in 2026, he said.

"When our anti?ballistic missiles are minimized -- here is another tactic... hunting their nearby locations from which ballistic missiles are launched," Zelensky said.-AFP