Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Tuesday urged American tech mogul Elon Musk to stop the Russian army from accessing the Starlink satellite internet, which experts say is being used by Moscow in the war against Ukraine, LETA reported citing AFP.
Sikorski, who also holds the position of Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, made this call following a report from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which states that the Russian army is using Starlink satellites to manage drone attacks deep into Ukrainian territory.
"Hey, great man @elonmusk, why are you not preventing the Russians from using 'Starlink' for attacks on Ukrainian cities? Profiting from war crimes could damage your brand," Sikorski wrote on the platform 'X'.
Musk denied in 2024 that Starlink terminals were sold to Russia. Ukrainian intelligence has established that the Russian army received these terminals from third countries, rather than through any official contract with Musk.
ISW reported that "Russian forces are increasingly using Starlink satellite systems to extend the range of BM-35 strike drones when conducting medium-range strikes on the rear of Ukraine."
According to ISW, BM-35 drones equipped with Starlink have a range of 500 kilometers, covering "most of Ukraine, all of Moldova, as well as parts of Poland, Romania, and Lithuania, if the drones are launched from Russian or occupied Ukrainian territory."
The Ukrainian army also widely uses Starlink for communication, so a complete shutdown of this system in the conflict zone would be problematic.
In recent months, Russia has intensified daily drone attacks on Ukrainian military positions at the front, as well as on power plants and transportation infrastructure across the country. During the attacks on Monday night, around 165 drones were launched.
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