The Kremlin and Elon Musk have formally denied kyiv's accusations that Russian forces use the Starlink satellite internet access service, owned by the billionaire, on the front.
“This is a system not certified in our country, which therefore cannot be officially supplied here and which is not officially supplied
,” Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the press on Monday. .
“Therefore, it cannot be used in any way
,” he assured.
Elon Musk, owner of Starlink, denied on Sunday any delivery of his system to Moscow.
To discover
Follow information on the war in Ukraine with the Figaro application
“This is completely false. To our knowledge, no Starlink terminal has been sold directly or indirectly to Russia
,” he declared on X (formerly Twitter), the social network he owns.
However, Ukraine reiterated on Monday its accusations made the day before.
“Through third countries, Starlink is freely available in Russia.
Compared to last year, the use of Starlink by the Russian army on the front line has become more systematic and well regulated
,” said Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for the Main Directorate of Ukrainian Military Intelligence, in Ukrainian television.
“Cases of use of these devices by the Russian occupiers have been recorded
,” he assured the RBC-Ukraine newspaper on Sunday.
Complex relationships
According to the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, radio interceptions established that Russian units stationed near Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine,
“began massively using Starlink on the front”
.
Starlink has a network of more than 2,000 small satellites in low orbit above the earth connected to terrestrial terminals which can generate wifi and therefore internet access.
Since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine two years ago, Elon Musk's company, SpaceX, has delivered several thousand terminals there.
This network is essential for Ukrainian army communications.
Ukraine and Elon Musk have had complex relations for several months.
kyiv had thanked him for deploying its satellites, but later became outraged when he proposed that the country cede territory to achieve peace.