Ukraine war
Putin redirects internet from parts of Ukraine – Elon Musk’s Starlink gains importance again
A shipment of Starlink ground stations arrives in Ukraine. A slogan is stuck to the boxes: “We unite for victory”.
© Alex Konon / Shutterstock
Ukraine is plagued by destroyed infrastructure and internet outages due to the invasion by Russia. Wherever the Internet still works, Putin grabs the data – which drives more and more people into the Starlink satellite Internet.
Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, the world’s richest man partnered with the US government to help keep the country connected to the internet. At the request of Ukraine’s digital minister, Elon Musk not only flew the Starlink satellites over the country, but also sent ground stations en masse.
The Ukrainians who already have access to Starlink use the system actively – not only civilian. The army also uses mobile internet to attack Russian troops (read more here). According to official figures, Starlink now has 150,000 active users from Ukraine every day. The country describes satellite internet as a crucial support for Ukraine’s infrastructure and the reconstruction of the devastated areas. Mykhailo Fedorov, Digital Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, wrote: “Ukraine will definitely remain connected.”
First blackout, then Russian provider
A recent message from net blocks, a monitoring agency for cybersecurity and the Internet, suggests that the Musk satellites are likely to increase in importance: According to this, there was an almost complete Internet blackout in the Ukrainian Oblast of Kherson before the past weekend, which was only over after three days . As the internet slowly came back up, it quickly became clear who had turned it back on: Russia.
The invaders used the blackout to redirect all data streams from Ukrainian infrastructure to Russian providers. Netblocks was able to confirm that the region’s Internet now runs via Rostelecom, a telecommunications service provider of the Russian government.
Censorship and surveillance by Putin
This has major disadvantages for users. Netblocks states: “The connections are now likely to be subject to Russian Internet regulations, surveillance and censorship.” Also, according to cybersecurity expert Dlshad Othman Twitter, thereby securing important profits for Russia. The same approach, explains Othman, has been observed in the regions that Russia has been trying to secure since 2014, i.e. Donetsk, Luhansk and on the Crimean peninsula.
Access to an independent Internet through traditional channels has become all but impossible for people in these areas. In order to get free information there that is not filtered and censored by Russia, free alternatives are needed. That could be Starlink, also in Cherson. Because as long as there is access to a ground station, the connection to the free Internet cannot easily be cut off, even in contested areas.
Preparations for “democratic votes”
A report in the Tagesschau allows the conclusion that these could be preparations for a possible annexation of the areas. According to the US, Russia is still planning in May to annex parts of eastern Ukraine with the help of votes and to recognize Cherson as an independent republic. It is said that this should give a “democratic touch” to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Controlling the internet, and therefore the information that can be shared in these areas, could be an important building block in steering the upcoming “elections”.
Sources: daily News, Reuters, Twitter, net blocks