The post-office counter is an unlikely front line. Yet according to Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, it was at the branches of a postal operator that a man in Dnipro set up Starlink satellite terminals for the Russian military, again and again, until he had activated more than 1,000 of them. The SBU announced his detention on 25 July 2026.
How the scheme worked
The suspect is a native of the Luhansk region. Russian intelligence, the SBU said, found him through Telegram channels that advertised “easy money.” On his handler’s instructions he first registered a single terminal in his own name, using details he was given. Then came a bigger assignment: organise mass verification of the equipment. He chose to carry it out at postal branches, using the personal data of proxies. Ukrainska Pravda added that he was told to recruit as many people as possible to help.
Officers detained him at home and seized a phone that held evidence of his work for the Russians. The SBU also blocked every terminal registered through the scheme. He was served a notice of suspicion for aiding an aggressor state, under Article 111-2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, and faces up to 12 years in prison.
Why a registration is worth money
The detail makes sense only against the rules Kyiv has put in place. According to Ukrainska Pravda, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced a “white list” for Starlink terminals. Since then only terminals that have been verified and registered keep working in the country, and every other unit was cut off. In February, the paper reported, Russian forces cut back the frequency of assault operations after Ukraine and SpaceX agreed to block unregistered terminals. It also cited the US Defense Intelligence Agency, which estimated that Ukraine regained about 400 sq km during a counteroffensive earlier this year after thousands of portable terminals became unavailable to the Russians.
Under those conditions, a registered terminal is a prize. A man willing to put his own name, or a stranger’s, on the paperwork becomes valuable to the other side.
A question SpaceX has faced before
The company has been pressed on Russian use of its hardware since at least February 2024, when Ukraine’s military intelligence said it had evidence of terminals in Moscow-held areas. An agency spokesman, Andriy Yusov, said such cases were “starting to take on a systemic nature.” Elon Musk answered that reports of Starlink sales to Russia were “categorically false” and that “to the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia.” SpaceX said that if it learns a terminal is in the hands of a sanctioned or unauthorized party, it investigates and deactivates it.
The Dnipro case suggests the weak point is not the sale but the sign-up. On 18 August the SBU said it had detained another man, in Izium, who registered 27 terminals for Russian forces. He had recruited local residents to help him.
Sources
- In Dnipro, a Russian agent was detained for helping the occupiers activate over 1,000 Starlink terminals (UNN)
- Man detained in Ukraine for activating over 1,000 Starlink terminals for Russian forces (Ukrainska Pravda)
- Elon Musk Denies 'False' Reports Starlink Sold to Russia (Newsweek)
- SBU detains man suspected of registering 27 Starlink terminals for Russia (The New Voice of Ukraine)
