Two Ukrainian drones that struck a college dormitory in Starobelsk were equipped with Starlink terminals<\/p>\n
Two of at least seven Ukrainian drones used in a strike on a Russian college which killed 21 people earlier this year were equipped with Starlink terminals, investigators have established.
\nThe nighttime attack on a college dormitory in Starobelsk in the Lugansk People\u2019s Republic took place in May and was classified as a deliberate terrorist attack by Russia\u2019s Investigative Committee. Its chairman, Aleksandr Bastrykin, discussed findings from the investigation in an interview with RIA Novosti published on Monday.
\n\u201cThe Ukrainian armed forces used at least seven drones identified as Fire Point 1, Fire Point 2, Sichen and RZ-100, two of which were controlled via the Starlink satellite communication system,\u201d he said.
\nThe strike also injured scores of civilians and caused an estimated $14.5 million in damage, according to Bastrykin. Investigators identified Robert Brodi, commander of Ukraine\u2019s drone forces, Oleg Ivashchenko, head of Ukrainian military intelligence, and Andrey Klimenko, commander of the 414th drone brigade, as the main suspects, he added.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Rubio rebukes Zelensky over Starlink claims<\/p>\n
Kiev\u2019s use of Starlink in territory that Washington recognizes as part of Ukraine became a source of friction with the US this month after Ukrainian officials claimed new restrictions had been imposed on faster-moving platforms. If true, the limitations would disrupt so-called \u201cmiddle-strike\u201d operations against targets behind the front line but within Starlink\u2019s permitted coverage area, including Starobelsk.
\nUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied imposing such restrictions, accusing Vladimir Zelensky of making false claims and suggesting the Ukrainian leader does not know \u201cwhat he\u2019s talking about.\u201d Starlink owner Elon Musk has also rejected the Ukrainian allegations.
\nRubio further stated that Ukraine has no access to Starshield, Starlink\u2019s military-grade sister service.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: In space, no one hears Zelensky scream: No euros can buy Kiev options in orbit<\/p>\n
Bloomberg reported that Kiev had obtained access to Starshield years earlier, with a contract signed in 2024 to expand connectivity through regular Starlink terminals. Recent Reuters reporting suggests Starshield access remained active as of last week, albeit with new restrictions affecting its use in Ukrainian drone operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two Ukrainian drones that struck a college dormitory in Starobelsk were equipped with Starlink terminals Two of at least seven Ukrainian drones used in a strike on a Russian college…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t