Ukraine asks the US to impose sanctions against companies involved in the production of the Russian analogue of Starlink

Ukraine is calling on the US to impose sanctions against several Russian companies that are helping Moscow develop the “Rassvet” satellite network, which is intended to be an alternative to “Starlink”.

This was told to Reuters by Ukraineʼs Chargé dʼAffaires in the United States Denys Senik.

He emphasized that Russia plans to strike Ukraine with drones as early as 2027, the communication for which comes through their satellite network.

"If they launch ʼRassvetʼ by the end of 2026, they will be able to strike targets in Ukraine in real time. If sanctions are not imposed against these companies, this will actually make it possible for Russia to implement this program, which will fundamentally change the situation," said Senik.

He added that he would provide the US government and Congress with information about companies and individuals that Kyiv accuses of facilitating the development of Rassvet.

Russian officials have previously spoken of plans to launch more than 900 such systems into orbit over the next few years. There are currently about 16 of them.

Starlink in Russia

The “Starlink” satellites of the “SpaceX” are not officially operational in Russia, but the Russian military has used these terminals to launch drones over Ukraine. These devices enter the Russian Federation via third countries.

At the end of January, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense turned to “SpaceX” to solve the problem of using “Starlink” on Russian drones. “Starlink” verification was launched in Ukraine on February 2. Former advisor to the Minister of Defense Serhiy Beskrestnov wrote that due to the blocking of Russian terminals, all control of the Russian troops collapsed, and assaults stopped in many areas.

In late May, it became known that Russia was testing its own “Starlink” analogue, the Bureau 1440 project, and had launched the first satellites into orbit. According to Serhiy Beskrestnov, in order to use Rassvet for military purposes, the Russians would need to launch at least several hundred satellites.

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