Photo: RBC
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has repeatedly urged U.S. President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russian and Chinese companies involved in developing Russia's Rassvet satellite network, which is intended to rival SpaceX's Starlink.
According to Zelenskyy, Moscow accelerated development of the system after Russian forces lost access to Starlink services used in the war against Ukraine. He said China was helping Russia develop a satellite network similar to Starlink.
“We know that China is working on satellites and on the possibility of helping Russia create an analogue of Starlink,” Zelenskyy said, according to the Financial Times.
Zelenskyy said he raised the issue with Trump most recently during their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. He has called for sanctions against companies and other entities involved in the Rassvet project.
Ukraine is concerned that a fully operational Rassvet system could strengthen Russia's ability to communicate with and control military drones, as well as transmit data in real time. Ukrainian intelligence has reported that Russian forces have already tested Rassvet satellites for communications over Ukraine.
Russia's Bureau 1440 launched the first 16 production Rassvet satellites into low Earth orbit on March 23, 2026. The company plans to expand the constellation substantially over the coming years, with Russian sources previously outlining a long-term target of around 900 satellites.
The deployment is progressing faster than earlier expected, according to Ukrainian intelligence. Reuters reported in August that Russia had 16 operational Rassvet satellites at the time and was planning to expand the network to 292 satellites by 2027 and 924 by 2035.
The Kremlin, Beijing and SpaceX did not immediately comment on the latest claims reported by the Financial Times.
