Intercepted conversations between Russian troops in the occupied Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine indicate they had Starlink devices installed for internet access, the Ukrainian defense ministry intelligence directorate said on Sunday on its website.

“This is starting to become systemic,” the RBC-Ukraine news site quoted military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov as saying on Saturday about Russian forces’ use of Starlink. 

Talk about Russian troops using the satellite service bubbled up on Ukrainian social networks and media last week. Starlink Inc. isn’t active in Russia, meaning the service will not work in that country, the company said on Thursday on Musk’s X social media platform, formerly Twitter. 

SpaceX does not do business of any kind with the Russian Government or its military.

Starlink is not active in Russia, meaning service will not work in that country. SpaceX has never sold or marketed Starlink in Russia, nor has it shipped equipment to locations in Russia. If…

— Starlink (@Starlink) February 8, 2024

Starlink’s statement didn’t specify whether the prohibition would also apply to the four large areas of eastern and southern Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed in 2022, where hundreds of thousands of Russian troops are believed to be deployed. In the past it has restricted the use of internet services in Russian-occupied territories.

Musk posted on X that reports SpaceX is selling Starlink terminals to Russia are false. “To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia,” he wrote.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Sunday, citing Ukraine’s military intelligence, that Russian forces are using the satellite internet system in occupied Ukraine.   

Musk activated the Starlink satellite service in Ukraine during the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion, responding to Kyiv’s plea. Soon, the devices became a vital part of the country’s infrastructure, providing internet services in areas of fighting and beyond.

Musk and Starlink Are in This War. Like It or Not: Marc Champion

The increasing dependence of Ukraine’s military on Starlink became ever more apparent, raising the concerns of its creator. Last year, Musk admitted he had prevented Starlink from being used as part of a Ukrainian attack on a Russian naval base on the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by the Kremlin in 2014. His comments prompted an outcry in Kyiv and a US Senate query. 

Musk said on the All-In Podcast that he would have extended Starlink for the Ukrainians in Crimea if US President Joe Biden had directed him to do so, but no such directive came. He said Starlink had been turned off over Crimea originally because of US sanctions on Russia.