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- Russia is using thousands of Starlink terminals bought on the "open market," Ukraine's spy chief said.
- Kyrylo Budanov told The Wall Street Journal that Russian companies are disguising purchases as personal use.
- Elon Musk has denied such claims, saying Starlink is inoperable in Russia and not sold there.
Russian forces are using thousands of Elon Musk’s Starlink terminals in Ukraine that are being bought through Russian companies, Ukraine’s intelligence chief said.
"It’s an open market," Kyrylo Budanov told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Thursday.
Russia's military is able to get the terminals through Russian private companies, which disguise purchases as being for personal use, Budanov said, per the newspaper.
They then ship the equipment to Russia through neighboring countries, he told the outlet.
"It’s not a military item," he said, explaining the companies' trade practices.
Business Insider couldn't independently verify these claims.
But if true, it would be significant as Starlink access would grant Russian forces the same capabilities as Ukrainian troops, enabling communications between front-line soldiers and helping drone attacks.
Musk, the owner of SpaceX, which owns and operates Starlink, has previously denied Ukrainian claims, saying Starlink is inoperable in Russia and not sold there.
"To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia," he said in a post on X last Sunday.
In a follow-up statement this week, Musk clarified that Starlink would not connect to devices in Russia.
"Starlink satellites will not close the link in Russia," he said.
But according to Budanov, Russia's military has been using Starlink for "quite a long time," per the Journal.
Last Sunday, Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence said in a Telegram post that Russia was using Starlink satellites, citing a radio interception of Russian communications.
The post said the audio featured two Russian soldiers discussing setting up terminals in eastern Ukraine, per a translation by Ukrainska Pravda.
Andriy Yusov, an Intelligence spokesperson, said there are cases of Russian forces using these satellites and that their use is "beginning to become systematic," he told RBC-Ukraine, per a translation by The New Voice of Ukraine.
Musk and SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.