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SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellite dishes are being sold to Russian military and Sudanese paramilitary groups through third-party dealers or even sites like eBay, a new investigation from The Wall Street Journal reveals.While Russian officials have repeatedly threatened that Starlink could become a military target and that it might “retaliate” against Starlink’s satellites with a weapon or an anti-satellite system, Russian troops still appear to be using Starlink themselves and are buying dishes through what the WSJ calls “a shadowy supply chain.” The outlet spoke with a Russian e-commerce site owner who has been selling Starlink internet hardware that has gone toward supporting the country’s military attacks on Ukraine. The investigation also found multiple other Russian sites selling Starlink devices, with monthly fees starting at $100.Middlemen are reportedly buying the dishes through eBay or black-market sites. Then, Russian volunteers smuggle the Starlink hardware to its location of use. In Russia’s case, that’s primarily across various parts of Ukraine where Russian troops are currently active. This has been a problem for months, as Ukraine’s military intelligence chief shared back in February that the Russian military has “thousands” of Starlink dishes in Ukraine.EBay told the WSJ that it abides by all laws where it operates, including adhering to any sanctions or international laws.Ukraine is working with SpaceX and US government officials to determine how to stop Russian forces from using Starlink, according to the report. Last month, Ukraine’s telecommunications authority declared that only registered Starlink devices will be allowed to work in its country, but hasn’t set a date for the new rules to take effect. It’s also unclear how such rules might be enforced, and how easy or difficult it might be for Russian troops to circumvent any location-based restrictions.Starlink is illegal in Sudan, but its Rapid Support Forces group is reportedly using Starlink hardware as well, the WSJ finds. The paramilitary group—which the US government says has committed crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other atrocities—has bought “hundreds” of Starlink devices from sellers in the UAE. Once purchased, the Starlink terminals are sent from the UAE to Chad, and then smuggled across the border into Sudan.
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Sudan’s government claims Starlink never answered its request to turn off the Starlink terminals being used in its country (Starlink’s service map states that a service date for Sudan is “unknown at this time”). Starlink is also reportedly being used by Sudanese civilians as well.Starlink’s policies bar users from selling or transferring their accounts, and the hardware has some restrictions on it as well. Starlink’s website lists numerous “authorized resellers,” however, located in the US, UK, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Haiti, France, Malaysia, Japan, UAE, Nigeria, and Chile, to name a few. The company’s Terms of Service state that users can’t buy “an excessive number” of devices or items from the Elon Musk-owned company, but doesn’t specify what that number is. Starlink also says it reserves the right to terminate users’ accounts at any time for violating its rules.
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