Starlink terminals, which provide high-speed communications, were essential to giving the Ukrainian military an advantage over invading Russian forces.
Ukraine's intelligence services have confirmed that the Russian military is using the Starlink satellite internet service on battlefields in the occupied territories in the country's east.
Ukraine's military intelligence agency released what it said was evidence on Sunday, saying it confirmed previous reports about the “systematic” use of Elon Musk's satellite communications system terminals by the Russian military.
The Starlink system became essential to Ukraine's battlefield communications during Russia's nearly two-year invasion, as Kiev faced off against a larger and better-equipped military. The personal control of Starlink by a US billionaire who regularly repeats the Kremlin's talking points on the conflict remains a concern for Kiev and its allies.
The device was rushed to support Ukraine after the Russian invasion in February 2022, and has become essential for communications on the Kiev battlefield.
In response to reports in Ukraine, SpaceX said last week that it “does not do business of any kind with the Russian government or military.”
However, the Ministry of Defense's General Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) posted an audio clip on Telegram showing Russian troops discussing setting up a terminal in eastern Ukraine.
“Instances of the use of certain devices by the Russian occupiers have been registered. It is beginning to take on an organized nature,” GUR spokesman Andriy Yusov was quoted as saying.
The station said in a statement that the device was used by forces such as Russia's 83rd Air Assault Brigade, which is fighting near the contested towns of Kryschyvka and Andriivka in the partially occupied region of eastern Donetsk. Said to be used.
Reports last week from Ukraine claimed that Russia was procuring Starlink equipment in Dubai and elsewhere.
Western technology components are regularly discovered in Russia's arsenals, as the Russian government has become adept at evading sanctions and often imports goods through third countries.
Massive barrage
The Russian military launched 45 drones into Ukraine overnight, Kiev News Agency reported on Sunday.
Officials with the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine wrote on Telegram that the five-and-a-half-hour attack targeted agricultural facilities and coastal infrastructure. They added that the strike in the Mykolaiv region injured one person and caused a fire that damaged a nearby residential building.
Another person was injured in a fire caused by falling debris from a destroyed drone in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, the region's military administrator Serhiy Lysak announced.
The attack comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy continues to shake up military commanders to maintain momentum against attacks on Russian forces.
Kiev has announced that former deputy defense minister Alexander Pavlyuk will become the new commander of Ukraine's ground forces. The post was previously held by Oleksandr Silsky, who was appointed on Thursday to replace outgoing Ukrainian military commander Valery Zarzhny.
The new presidential decree also named Yury Sodor, former commander of the Marine Corps of Ukraine, as the new commander of the Allied Forces of Ukraine. Ihor Skiviuk as commander of the Ukrainian Air Force. Ihor Plakhta was appointed as the commander of the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine.
Incoming commander-in-chief Mr. Shirsky indicated that immediate goals include improving troop rotation on the front lines and harnessing the power of new technology while Kiev's forces are mostly on the defensive.
