Man detained in Izium on suspicion of registering 27 Starlink terminals for Russian forces

Ukrainian security forces apprehended an individual in Izium on August 18, accused of registering 27 Starlink terminals for Russian military operations. The suspect, an unemployed individual from the Russian-occupied city of Khrustalnyi in Luhansk Oblast, had relocated to Izium. He began his search for illicit means of income once he arrived.

Authorities discovered that the man first registered a satellite terminal under his name and supplied its details to a "handler" located in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. Subsequently, he was instructed to register additional satellite equipment. To facilitate this scheme, he enlisted the help of locals. According to the SBU, the suspect anticipated being "evacuated" to the Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast area.

The detained man is currently under arrest and faces potential life imprisonment, along with the seizure of his possessions. In July, it was revealed that Russian firm Bureau 1440 had deployed a second batch of communications satellites for its Rassvet project, touted as Russia's counterpart to Starlink. The first batch of these satellites was launched in March.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had claimed on June 12 during a meeting with troops at the Kremlin that Russia had already established its own satellite internet system for managing drones. However, service personnel insisted such systems were not operational at the time.