SBU detains alleged Russian agent accused of registering 27 Starlink terminals for Moscow's troops
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The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained a suspected Russian agent in Kharkiv Oblast who allegedly registered 27 Starlink terminals in the front-line city of Izium for use by Russian forces, the agency said on Aug. 18.
According to investigators, Russian forces planned to use the equipment to coordinate assault units and drone strikes in Kharkiv Oblast.
Since February, Ukraine and SpaceX have restricted Russian access to Starlink by allowing only verified terminals to operate across Ukraine. The move diminished Russia’s ability to use the system for battlefield communications and drone operations, and helped Ukrainian counterattacks in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.
To get around the restrictions, Russian forces have recruited Ukrainian citizens to register and verify Starlink terminals.
The SBU said the suspect is an unemployed displaced person from the Russian-occupied city of Khrustalnyi in Luhansk Oblast.
Investigators said Russian intelligence services recruited him after he moved to Izium and began looking for ways to earn money through Instagram.
The man allegedly first registered one Starlink terminal in his own name and passed the account details to a Russian handler based in occupied territory in eastern Ukraine.
He was later instructed to verify additional terminals and involved local residents in registering the equipment, the SBU said.
According to the agency, the suspect was also tasked with identifying the coordinates of Ukrainian military positions for Russian targeting.
The SBU said the man expected to be evacuated to Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast after completing the assignments.
Russia has repeatedly recruited Ukrainians to gather intelligence, help coordinate attacks, and even assist in attempted assassinations.
Recruitment methods include financial incentives, coercion, and blackmail. Vulnerable groups may be drawn in by online "easy money" schemes, while those in occupied territories or with relatives held as prisoners of war (POW) may face pressure or threats.
On March 13, the SBU reported detaining a suspected Russian agent accused of helping prepare an attack on Andrii Biletskyi, commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps.
The suspect, a drone operator in another Ukrainian brigade in Kharkiv Oblast, was allegedly recruited through his ex-wife, who lives in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
