Russia is already employing its new Rassvet satellite network for military communications over Ukraine, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, known as GUR. The system is billed as Russia’s homegrown answer to Starlink.

GUR said Moscow aims to use the network to improve the accuracy of strike drones while making them more difficult to jam. Russia has launched 32 Rassvet satellites into orbit this year through two batches conducted in March and July.

The Russian government said last month that more than 30 satellites had been launched. That remains a tiny constellation compared with the more than 10,000 satellites operating within Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink network.

Starshield, the military version of the SpaceX system, operates in Ukraine but not in Russia. Kyiv’s access to SpaceX services has provided a major advantage in drone missions and battlefield communications during the war against Russian forces.

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Moscow plans additional Rassvet launches by the end of 2026, according to GUR. Those launches are intended to expand geographic coverage and gradually move the project toward a complete satellite communications system in low orbit.

“Russia is using the ‘Rassvet’ satellite system over the territory of Ukraine for military purposes,” GUR spokesman Andrii Yusov said in a written statement. Current coverage, however, remains limited by the small number of satellites in orbit.

“The constellation is currently insufficient to provide uninterrupted coverage of Ukrainian territory: communication is available intermittently when the satellites pass over the relevant areas.” Russia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia’s Scientific and Expert Council warned Friday about the risks presented by Starlink and called for faster deployment of Rassvet. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, have repeatedly voiced concern about Russia’s efforts to construct its own version of the SpaceX network.

Russian forces previously used Starlink terminals acquired through unofficial markets in Ukraine. Kyiv successfully pressed SpaceX to disable those terminals earlier this year, a development described as one of several factors that shifted battlefield momentum in Ukraine’s favor.

Ukrainian commanders last month unexpectedly encountered speed restrictions on Starshield. Those temporary limits hindered efforts to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of some Ukrainian strike operations, though the restrictions have since been lifted.

No explanation was provided for the limits, which came amid tensions with President Donald Trump’s administration over Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries. At the same time, Russia has intensified attacks on Ukrainian cities and electricity infrastructure using a new generation of jet powered drones that are more difficult to intercept.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week imposed sanctions on 10 companies involved in Rassvet’s development. The sanctioned entities included Bureau 1440, which coordinates the state backed project and has said it plans to establish a constellation of more than 900 satellites by 2035.

GUR said Rassvet may permit data to flow in both directions between Russian operators and unmanned aircraft over Ukraine. Surveillance drones could transmit information in real time, while pilots could adjust attack drone routes during flight instead of relying entirely on routes programmed in advance.

That capability could allow Russian drones to respond to changes in target locations or maneuver around air defenses. “In the longer term, this could increase the effectiveness of strike and reconnaissance UAVs and make it more difficult for electronic warfare and electronic intelligence systems to intercept them,” Yusov said.

Kyiv based security expert Mykola Zientsev said there were indications that Rassvet was already affecting precision strikes conducted by Russian jet powered drones. “In practical terms, Russia already possesses at least two high-quality satellite communications windows every day, each lasting more than an hour,” he wrote in a recent report.

“That is enough to have operational consequences.” GUR has published a list of 49 companies from Russia and Belarus that it says are participating in the project.

Major General Vadym Skibitskyi, GUR’s deputy head, said in an August interview with Ukrainian media that Russia was launching Rassvet much faster than originally planned. He also said Ukraine was already discussing measures to counter the satellite network.

Ukraine said in August that it conducted a missile attack against the Progress rocket and space center in Russia’s Samara region, which produces rockets used for Rassvet launches. Denys Sienik, Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, urged the United States to sanction Rassvet companies and told Reuters that Russia was developing the network with Chinese components.

The U.S. Treasury Department offered no comment on Ukraine’s request for additional sanctions. Bureau 1440 also did not immediately respond to questions about Rassvet.

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