Aug 14, 2025 20:00:00

Ukraine is home to companies and engineers who repair and modify Starlink equipment to withstand Russian attacks.

Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, SpaceX, led by CEO Elon Musk, has launched the satellite internet service 'Starlink' in response to concerns that Ukraine's domestic communications infrastructure may become unusable. It has been pointed out that '

Musk has a great influence in the war between Russia and Ukraine .' In addition to playing an important military role in Ukraine, it has also been reported that the industry for repairing Starlink is being developed.

Ukraine's Self-Trained Techie Army Saves Ties to Musk's Starlink Satellites - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-08-13/ukraine-s-self-trained-techie-army-saves-ties-to-musk-s-starlink-satellites

Starlink is a satellite-based internet service that allows for equal coverage in both urban and rural areas using dedicated antennas. When Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, thousands of Starlink antennas were delivered to the country within days, and the deployment was described as a game changer.

In Ukraine, Starlink plays an important role in everything from everyday life to the military front lines, so when Starlink caused a global communications outage in July 2025, 'the internet was down for about 150 minutes, the longest since the start of the Ukrainian invasion.' It caused great anxiety.

Starlink satellite service down worldwide - GIGAZINE

In most parts of the world, if a Starlink receiver breaks down, users can submit a support request to SpaceX online and receive replacement hardware. However, in Ukraine, Starlink equipment used in military-related areas is facing difficulties in receiving official replacements or repairs in a timely manner.

SpaceX also explained that 'Starlink was intended for humanitarian use and was not intended for attack,' and has limited some of the functionality of the Starlink it provided to the Ukrainian military. Furthermore, with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance warning that 'the end is here for U.S. funding of wars,' there is a growing possibility that aid to Ukraine will decrease.

SpaceX has restricted the use of Starlink by the Ukrainian military, with an executive saying there was no intention to weaponize it.

by Official SpaceX Photos

Due to the difficulty of receiving official repairs and the uncertainty of when Starlink's supply from the United States will be interrupted, efforts to repair and adjust Starlink in Ukraine have been active. A company called 'Stetman,' headquartered in Kyiv, employs 140 technicians and other staff to repair, upgrade, and replace Starlink equipment. The image below shows Stetman CEO Dmytro Stetsenko showing a damaged Starlink terminal in Ukraine.

Oleg Kutkov, a self-taught expert, began repairing Starlink equipment in 2021 and has been posting DIY tutorials on his blog on how to repair broken receivers. According to Kutkov, there are dozens of factories in Ukraine that specialize in Starlink repairs, almost all of which are military-related. Below are photos posted by Kutkov on his blog: the left shows a Starlink receiver destroyed by artillery fire, and the right shows one successfully repaired.

Volodymyr Stepanet, a former advisor to the commander of the Ukrainian Communications and Cybersecurity Forces and currently residing in Poland as of July 2025, has launched an online community called 'People's Starlink,' bringing together donors, IT experts, and other enthusiasts to maintain Starlink equipment, which is closer to consumer technology. According to Stepanet, there are an estimated 300,000 Starlink devices in Ukraine, including some that are not in operation. However, many of the locations where they are actually used are not intended for Starlink use. Therefore, Stepanet says, not only repairs are needed, but also 'repackaging' technology that can withstand the environment.

According to a Ukrainian military radio officer who responded to an interview with Bloomberg, Starlink is a valuable solution thanks to its ease of use and rapid deployment, but the network on the front lines is often unstable and needs to be backed up with wired or mobile internet. Also, the cables of Starlink receivers are often chewed by rats, and repeated connection and disconnection often cause failures. Therefore, different units have established different routes to repair broken Starlink equipment.

In addition, with a normal Starlink connection, communications are received from satellites using a dedicated antenna and the internet can be connected via a Wi-Fi router, but in Ukraine, there have been many cases where Starlink connections have been disrupted due to physical destruction of ground infrastructure and communication being easily interrupted. Therefore, Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile phone operator, reported on August 12, 2025 that it had succeeded in Starlink's 'cell direct connection technology' that does not go through a dedicated antenna.

With direct cell connection technology, a regular 4G smartphone can communicate directly with the satellite and use the LTE band to access the internet. This means that even if terrestrial base stations are destroyed, smartphones will be able to send messages, make calls, and in the future, even use data communications.

Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov has revealed plans to commercialize its cell direct connection technology in the second half of 2025. Starlink has signed contracts with telecommunications operators in 10 countries, including Kyivstar, for direct connection services, and is expected to be useful in mountainous areas, forests, and urban areas during disasters.