Zelenskyy Asked Trump To Impose Sanctions On Russian And Chinese Companies Over Starlink Analog

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged American President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russian and Chinese companies that are developing a satellite network, Rassvet, which could rival Elon Musk's Starlink service. This request was made by Zelenskyy in an interview with the Financial Times, according to UATV English.

Zelenskyy claimed that Russia, with the backing of China, has intensified its efforts to create an alternative satellite network after discovering how SpaceX's Starlink is being utilized for military purposes. The Ukrainian leader specified that China is actively developing satellite technology to support Russia in establishing a comparable system to Starlink.

He estimated that the Rassvet network could become operational by the end of the current year or early in the following year. Zelenskyy reiterated his repeated appeals to Trump to sanction entities involved in the creation of this rival satellite network, with their most recent conversation occurring during a private meeting in New York during the UN General Assembly.

Notably, Germany's military has expressed concerns about the potential threat posed by a Russian counterpart to Starlink. Additionally, the Finnish President, Alexander Stubb, had requested Elon Musk to broaden Starlink's satellite internet reach to Ukraine, with the aim of targeting Russian missile launchers.