Co-founder of the Aerorozvidka NGO, Yaroslav Honchar, spoke about whether Ukraine could be left without Starlink, what would happen if it were to be disconnected, and whether the Defense Forces have a backup plan.
Co-founder of the Aerorozvidka NGO, Yaroslav Honchar, spoke about whether Ukraine could be left without Starlink, what would happen if it were to be disconnected, and whether the Defense Forces have a backup plan.
The specific actions that the Defense Forces will take in the event of the loss of Starlink communication will definitely not be announced publicly on the air, Yaroslav Honchar emphasized, answering a question from a Kyiv24 journalist.
He recalled similar previous experience that the military had, in particular, armed confrontations on enemy territory, where Starlink did not work. Referring to this, Yaroslav Honchav confidently stated that the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine must be ready to continue their tasks even in the event of a loss of Starlink communication.
In addition, he added that from a technical point of view it is possible. As an example, the head of Aerorozvidka mentioned the de-occupation of Ukrainian territories during the Kherson operation. Then the Ukrainian military approached the Dnieper River and there was a situation when Starlink did not work and negotiations were underway with representatives of this company to expand the coverage area.
As a reminder, the Ukrainian military has previously encountered disruptions in Starlink communications, in particular in May of last year. Then the Pentagon began «actively cooperating with the Ukrainian government and SpaceX to counter Russia’s illegal use of Starlink terminals.»
«The Security and Defense Forces already have such experience, and I hope all the measures that need to be taken to continue fulfilling the tasks have been taken,» added Yaroslav Honcharov. The head of Aerorozvidka added that Ukraine has and has had all the opportunities to take these measures, citing previous experience.
In addition, he supported the words of Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council, who stated that the Starlink connection of the Ukrainian military is not being disconnected. Yaroslav Honchar added that the guarantee of this may be that it is provided by a commercial organization and a huge amount of this equipment functions at the front as if purchased for personal use.
«8 million people left our country because we were attacked by madmen from the East. And these people need to communicate with their relatives, they can buy these terminals and give them to their relatives in Ukraine. If Elon Musk disrupts the communication of these people, he may also face lawsuits,» said the head of Aerorozvidka.
After the spread of information about the possible shutdown of Starlink for Ukraine, Elon Musk stated that it was false. In response, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov assured that Ukraine has an alternative to the Starlink system in case of its shutdown. Rumors that the US is threatening to shut down Starlink if Ukraine does not sign an agreement on minerals spread on February 22, citing sources supposedly familiar with the matter.
