Russia, China, and Ukraine in a frantic race to develop Starlink alternatives

Russia and Ukraine are each developing their own versions of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications network, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Last year, Musk restricted Russia’s access to Starlink satellites amid the war in Ukraine. Experts believe this move may have disrupted Russian military tactics and weakened their offensive capabilities.

Zelensky said in statements published Sunday, “The Russians are developing a counterpart to Starlink in cooperation with the Chinese, and they expect to complete the project by December 2026.”

He added that Ukraine “won’t sit and wait for Russia and China” to finish their project, explaining that it “is implementing a similar project with a European country.”

He stated, “We’ve already started testing it.”

Ukraine requested permission from Elon Musk and the U.S. administration to use the Starlink network for operations inside Russian territory.

Musk has repeatedly shifted his stance on the war between Russia and Ukraine, which began with a Russian invasion in 2022.

Communication with him was conducted through Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was recently removed from office.

Zelensky said Musk views using Starlink to strike Russia as an escalation in the war, but Ukraine sees it as a step that could shorten the conflict.

He emphasized that “this would indeed lead to a reduction, especially in the capabilities Russia uses to prolong the war.”

The Ukrainian president revealed that his forces are attempting to target Russian missile launch platforms, while Moscow has intensified its use of these missiles, which can only be effectively destroyed by American-made Patriot systems.

Ukraine received 675 Patriot missiles in 2023, compared to 364 in 2025 and 264 in 2026, according to Zelensky.

“When our number of anti-missile rockets decreases… another strategy takes over… focusing on detecting nearby locations from which ballistic missiles are launched,” the Ukrainian president said.