A man who set up Starlink for the occupiers was caught in the Kyiv region

Law enforcement officials have charged a 24-year-old resident of the Kyiv region with treason for assisting Russian occupation forces in establishing satellite communications. 

According to the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office, the suspect verified a Starlink terminal through a Ukrainian post office using his own documents in exchange for a $200 payment. Since the systems are blocked in enemy-occupied areas, the invaders needed to activate the equipment using the personal data of Ukrainian citizens.

The suspect found a job offer on social media from a Russian serviceman and later recruited his colleague and the colleague’s wife into the scheme. He convinced his acquaintances to verify two more terminals without revealing the true purpose of the actions to them, and personally supervised the process at the post office. The man received payment for the completed tasks from a Russian handler via a crypto wallet.

Investigative actions are currently underway as part of criminal proceedings under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Prosecutors emphasize that the suspect’s actions allowed the enemy to circumvent technical communication restrictions in combat zones. The suspect faces life imprisonment for aiding Russia in conducting subversive activities against Ukraine. The investigation is identifying other individuals who may be involved in operating the channel for activating the blocked equipment.

The Russians replacedStarlink with an alternative that is more visible to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Additionally, the blocking of Starlink and restrictions on Telegram have created problems for Russian forces, according to Estonian intelligence.

The Russian command has acknowledged the mass shutdown of Starlink terminals for the first time.