Russia using Rassvet satellite network to control drones over Ukraine

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Russia is already using its new Rassvet satellite network — billed as a homegrown version of Starlink — for military communications over Ukraine, aiming to make its strike drones more accurate and harder to jam, Ukrainian military intelligence told Reuters.

Russia has launched 32 Rassvet satellites into orbit so far this year in two batches in March and July, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense (GUR). The Russian government said last month that Russia had launched more than 30 satellites.

That is a tiny fraction of the more than 10,000 satellites in the Starlink network, run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the military version of which — Starshield — operates in Ukraine but not in Russia. Access to SpaceX systems, which Moscow does not have, has greatly helped Kyiv in the war against invading Russian forces.

Moscow plans more Rassvet launches by the end of 2026 to expand the network’s geographic coverage, gradually bringing it closer to a full low-orbit satellite communications system, GUR said in a written statement.

“Russia is using the ‘Rassvet’ satellite system over the territory of Ukraine for military purposes,” GUR spokesman Andrii Yusov said in the statement.

“The constellation is currently insufficient to provide uninterrupted coverage of Ukrainian territory: communication is available intermittently when the satellites pass over the relevant areas.”

Russia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russia’s Scientific and Expert Council warned of the risks posed by Starlink on Friday and urged a quicker deployment of the Rassvet system.

RENEWED UNCERTAINTY OVER US SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

Starshield has given Kyiv a major advantage in drone operations and battlefield communications.

Russian forces had been using grey-market ​Starlink terminals in Ukraine until Kyiv successfully lobbied SpaceX to disable ​them earlier this year, one of several factors that shifted ⁠battlefield momentum in Ukraine’s favor this year.

However, last month Ukrainian battlefield commanders unexpectedly saw speed limitations imposed on Starshield, hampering the military’s ability to intercept Russian attack ​drones and forcing the cancellation of some strike operations.

No explanation has been given for the temporary restrictions on Starshield, which came amid tensions with President Donald Trump’s administration over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and have now been lifted.

While Russia’s territorial gains on the front line have ground to a virtual halt this year, it has doubled down on strikes against Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure and cities, using a new generation of jet-powered drones that are harder to intercept.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly raised concerns about Russia’s attempts to build its own version of SpaceX’s network. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week imposed sanctions on 10 companies involved in developing Rassvet, including Bureau 1440 — the coordinator of the state-backed project.

Bureau 1440 has said it plans to create a constellation of more than 900 satellites by 2035. The company did not immediately respond to Reuters’ questions about Rassvet.

BOOST TO SURVEILLANCE AND STRIKE DRONES

The GUR statement said that Rassvet may provide Russia with two-way data exchange with its unmanned aircraft over Ukraine, allowing surveillance drones to transmit data in real time and pilots to adjust the route of attack drones during flight, reducing dependence on a pre-programmed flight path.

That could allow drones to adjust to changes in target location, or evade air defenses.

“In the longer term, this could increase the effectiveness of strike and reconnaissance UAVs and make it more difficult for electronic warfare and electronic intelligence systems to intercept them,” Yusov said.

Mykola Zientsev, a Kyiv-based security expert, said there were some signs that Rassvet was already having an impact on precision strikes by Russian jet-powered drones.

“In practical terms, Russia already possesses at least two high-quality satellite communications windows every day, each lasting more than an hour,” he wrote in a recent report. “That is enough to have operational consequences.”

GUR has published a list of 49 companies from Russia and Belarus that it says are involved in the project.

​​Major General Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of GUR, said in an interview with Ukrainian media in August that Russia was launching the Rassvet system much faster than originally planned and Ukraine was already discussing ways to counter it.

Ukraine said in August it had carried out a long-range missile attack against the Progress rocket and space center in Russia’s Samara region, which produces rockets used to launch Rassvet satellites.

Denys Sienik, Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, has urged the U.S. to impose its own sanctions on Rassvet companies. He also told Reuters that Russia was developing the Starlink analogue using Chinese components.

The U.S. Treasury Department had no comment on Ukraine’s push for further sanctions.