Ukraine shows promise and peril of satellite internet in war zones

As Russia wages its war on Ukraine, it is also destroying much of the communications infrastructure that keeps citizens connected to each other and the outside world. There have been widespread reports of internet outages and slowdowns, and continued loss of power and connectivity is likely.

People within Ukraine and outside the country are working to ensure it stays connected, despite the ongoing airstrikes and risk of cyberattacks.

Perhaps the most high-profile example of this is SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Just days after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted a plea for Starlink internet terminals, which are produced and operated by SpaceX. Within two days, the private spaceflight company had sent in the Starlink equipment that Ukrainians would need to communicate with its satellites in low Earth orbit. In the weeks leading up to the invasion, SpaceX had been working on a plan to take its Starlink services to Ukraine.

Because Starlink beams the internet from space, the system presents a compelling connectivity option for conflict settings such as Ukraine, where physical network infrastructure is under attack.

But satellite internet — which has served as a backstop in many settings where other communications infrastructure is damaged or might come under threat — comes with its own risks. For example, transmissions could be hacked, and that means users could become targets for airstrikes.

SpaceX’s broadband internet system is just one example of a range of efforts to ensure that Ukranians can remain connected. Local technicians are replacing and upgrading equipment to keep the country online, and the U.S. government is considering new legislation that would help provide cellular and internet connectivity in war zones. Experts say Starlink’s expansion into Ukraine raises important questions about how outsiders can provide alternative internet services without exposing already vulnerable people to increased risks.

Satellite communications: Promise and perils

When terrestrial, or land-based, infrastructure is destroyed by disaster or conflict, satellite communications systems are often the only way for people to access broadband data.

Satellites positioned in geostationary orbit, far higher up in space than satellites in low Earth orbit, provide an important foundation for immediate connectivity — particularly in humanitarian response situations, “where time is of the essence,” said John Garrity, chief of party for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Better Access and Connectivity project.

But as more satellites are deployed in low Earth orbit, these constellations could provide full global coverage and at faster speeds.

While satellites can and do play a valuable role in rural areas and locations with degraded connectivity, there are challenges that come with the technology. For example, because the technology uses radio waves to communicate, those signals can be intercepted.

In Ukraine, transmissions between Starlink user terminals and satellites in low Earth orbit could become targets for airstrikes, warned John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, which focuses on information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security.

Early in a conflict with disrupted internet, “satellite internet feels like a savior,” Scott-Railton said on Twitter.

But these technologies can quickly introduce “very real, deadly new vulnerabilities,” he warned, saying Russia has a history of targeting people based on satellite communications.

By rushing “untested-in-war” technologies into active conflict zones, “well-meaning people” may “get people killed,” he said.

Musk himself warned that there is a high probability of Starlink’s service being targeted by Russia. He has advised Starlink users to take precautions, such as turning on the system only when necessary and placing the antenna “as far away from people as possible.”

SpaceX has enabled mobile roaming so the stations can maintain signal while on a moving vehicle and has introduced upgrades to bypass jamming.

Keeping connectivity without making people targets

If Russia destroys Ukraine’s internet networks, Starlink can help the country maintain its link to the outside world.

For now, these terminals are intended for a small number of individuals and organizations — from Fedorov, who also serves as the country’s minister of digital transformation, to Ukrainian energy company DTEK Group.

In terms of ensuring the general public maintains access to the internet, the challenge that arises with most technologies is that the signal has to travel two ways.

“The person on the ground needs a ground station that can broadcast just as far as the thing in the air can broadcast to the ground,” said Herbert Lin, a senior research scholar for cyber policy and security at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation.

Those working to set up backup internet access infrastructure or provide secure communications solutions for Ukranians must navigate how to avoid endangering the people using these services.

“We’re trying to help people in need in a way that doesn’t make them a target, both in country and those who have exited,” said David Bray, a distinguished fellow with the Stimson Center, a policy research organization. Bray is in touch with others about how to support Ukrainian internet users.

Many Ukranians are continuing to use local internet infrastructure with encrypted VPNs, or virtual private networks, and encrypted communications within those VPNs, he said.

Though encryption can prevent outsiders from tracking conversations, signal interception devices can still detect these radio emissions, whether or not encryption is used.

Ukranians need a range of options for secure communications, in part because if citizens and decision-makers use the same technologies, they could all be targeted more easily by cyberattacks or physical attacks, Bray said.

Ukraine is a highly technical country, with plenty of people capable of tackling this issue of connectivity, Scott-Railton told Devex. 

For example, internet technicians — from smaller players like Triolan, a collective of businesses offering internet and cable TV services, to larger companies like Kyivstar, a telecom operator that serves half the country’s population — have been called “invisible heroes” of the war as they fix equipment damaged by Russian attacks. 

Donors, NGOs, and private sector partners should consider how to support responders within Ukraine, Scott-Railton said.

“In general, the problem with aid connectivity is it comes and goes with the humanitarian and aid organizations,” he continued. “The more that that connectivity winds up helping to build a robust backbone that can be used after a conflict, the better.”

He noted how, in Syria, point-to-point Wi-Fi was shared across borders from neighboring countries to provide internet access, and similar approaches might be considered in Ukraine.

“New technologies are showing up,” Scott-Railton said. “It’s important to balance the saliency of shiny objects with what we know about the long-term needs to get populations connected and challenges around that.”