Sunday, February 8, 2026 3:00:01 PM

After illegal Starlink terminals used by Russia’s armed forces were added to a so-called “blacklist,” Russians now face a fresh problem. Pro-war channels are spreading panic about a new threat tied to Elon Musk’s company.

According to one Russian paramilitary Telegram channel, inactive satellite terminals have started transmitting their location data.

“Attention, everyone, urgent!!! Immediately disconnect all Starlink satellite stations from power and take them out from under open sky. Location data is being collected from inactive devices,” the message reads.

Similar warnings appeared across other Russian military channels, urging immediate shutdown of all terminals. Some posts go further, advising users to “permanently” abandon the devices.

“Starlink is gone, that’s it, forget it,” one message says.

Ukraine’s military drone channel Dronebomber weighed in, saying Russians believe Elon Musk’s SpaceX “leaked” to Ukraine’s Defense Forces precise data on the number and location of illegal terminals.

“[A derogatory slur for gay men — referring to Russian troops; Ed.] are squealing that SpaceX leaked the coordinates of all non-activated Starlinks. And now in Delta and Kropyva we can see who, where, and how many,” the specialists wrote.

Ukrainian forces added that Russians reacted “too late,” arguing they can no longer undo the exposure. Ukraine’s military can now view a complete log of the devices’ locations.

“By the way, it’s too late to turn them off. The logs store the entire location history of a Starlink over a long period,” the message says.

Starlink became a problem for Russia. After unregistered Starlink terminals were blocked, the Russian army suffered noticeable coordination issues on the front line.

It later emerged that Russia is recruiting Ukrainians to activate Starlink. Russians are seeking collaborators willing to “earn extra” by activating Starlink satellite internet terminals at TsPAU service centers.

(c)UAWIRE 2026