Ukraine has asked the United States to sanction the companies building Rassvet, Russia's planned satellite internet network, warning that the system could give Moscow its own Starlink-style link for controlling attack drones deep inside Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Financial Times, in an interview published on October 3, that he has raised the request with President Donald Trump several times, including during their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last month.
Zelensky said Ukrainian officials believe China is developing satellite technology and exploring a system similar to Starlink to support Russia, and that Rassvet could become operational by the end of this year or early next year. He warned that switching the network on could improve the accuracy of Russian airstrikes at a moment when Moscow is already intensifying its aerial campaign ahead of winter. China's foreign ministry, the Kremlin and the White House did not respond to requests for comment on the claim, and Beijing has previously denied providing weapons to support Russia's military.
Why Kyiv fears a Russian Starlink
The concern in Kyiv is practical rather than abstract. Satellite connectivity has shaped the drone war from the start: Russian forces previously used SpaceX Starlink terminals to help guide drones, but since February only verified devices have been able to connect, cutting off unverified Russian terminals. A Russian-owned constellation would remove that dependence on a Western system that can be switched off.
Serhii Beskrestnov, a presidential adviser on defence technology known by the call sign "Flash", has warned that Rassvet could support remotely piloted attacks throughout Ukraine while Ukrainian forces remain unable to use Starlink over Russian territory. "The Russians will be able to attack our entire country using drones controlled online through their own satellites," he wrote on Telegram. Rob Lee, a military analyst at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, has cautioned that Rassvet may never match Starlink's performance, but could still serve as a better alternative to Wi-Fi bridges for transmitting drone footage to command centres, with potential uses for ground, maritime and medium-range strike drones.
What is already in orbit
This is not a paper project. Bureau 1440, the network's developer within Russia's IKS Holding, says it launched the first 16 satellites of the planned constellation on March 23 and a second batch on July 20. A Russian government information portal has put commercial operations in 2027, with testing during 2026 — a slower official timetable than the one Zelensky described, but one that still leaves Kyiv a narrowing window to act.
Ukraine is pursuing the sanctions track in parallel with diplomacy in Washington. Its acting ambassador to the United States, Denys Sienik, said Kyiv will provide Washington and Congress with details of the companies and individuals supporting the Rassvet network, Reuters reported on September 30. Kyiv has also struck at the programme directly: Zelensky said Ukrainian Flamingo missiles hit the Progress plant in Samara region on August 15, a factory Beskrestnov linked to rockets used for Rassvet launches, although the impact on the launch schedule remains unknown.
A race sanctions may still shape
The timing matters because Russia's drone campaign is evolving quickly. Fast, jet-powered Shahed drones are already straining Ukrainian air defences, and a resilient satellite link would make remotely controlled strikes harder to jam and possible over far greater distances. That is why Kyiv wants the supply chain targeted now, before terminals reach the front.
Whether Washington acts on the request is not yet clear, and no sanctions decision has been announced. But Ukraine's argument is straightforward: Rassvet is being built to solve a battlefield problem Russia created for itself when it lost access to Starlink, and closing the companies behind it into the sanctions net would raise the cost and slow the schedule. If the network reaches full service unimpeded, Ukraine's air-defence problem — already defined by speed, numbers and jamming — will gain a new and harder layer, fought this time in orbit.
Watch our latest video coverage here: https://www.youtube.com/@CapitolInvestigates