Russia threatens families of Ukrainian POWs to register Starlink terminals, Ukraine says
Russia is coercing the families of Ukrainian prisoners of war to register Starlink terminals for use by Russian troops on the battlefield, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on Feb. 10.
The claim comes a week after Ukraine's defense ministry agreed with Starlink parent company SpaceX to introduce mandatory registration for the internet terminals inside Ukraine, a move meant to prevent their use by Russian forces.
"Searching for a way out of the difficult situation they found themselves in, the occupiers have turned their attention to families of prisoners of war," the Coordination Headquarters wrote.
"Cases have been recorded of threats and demands that people officially register Starlink terminals in their own names. This equipment is then intended to be used against Ukraine and Ukrainians."
Enabling a high-speed internet connectivity without wires or local mobile connection, Starlink has become a prized technology on both sides of Russia's war against Ukraine.
The terminals are used both for everyday communications on front-line positions and command posts, as well as for longer-range unmanned aerial and ground vehicles in environments where other communications systems cannot function.
As the new registration system — negotiated quickly between Ukrainian defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov and SpaceX head Elon Musk — came into force, unregistered Starlink terminals quickly fell out of action on the battlefield, causing major headaches for the Russian military.
To work in Ukraine, a Starlink terminal must be registered, either directly through the Army+ app for soldiers, through the Diia government service app for businesses, or through Ukraine's administrative services center for civilian individuals.
Reeling at the loss of the technology, Russia has reportedly been looking for different ways to register their Starlinks inside Ukraine.
On Feb. 7, Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, a communications expert and recently-appointed advisor to Fedorov, reported that Russia had began actively searching for Ukrainians who could register the terminals, offering payments of up to Hr 10,000 ($232).
If a Russian Starlink terminal is found to be used in a strike against Ukraine, the Ukrainian citizen that helped register can be held criminally liable, the Coordination Headquarters warned.
