According to a report from Ukrainian website Defense Express, Russian drones are now actively using Starlink hardware for “unlimited” communication over Ukraine’s territory. This past week, Kyiv’s defense forces shot down 28 drones sent as part of Russia’s attack on the Kharkiv region, and some Starlink-branded equipment was seen among the wreckage for the first time.
Ukraine is under martial law, so privacy rights (especially involving something like MAC addresses which Starlink already has, not to mention that most citizens still in country can’t afford it in the first place) are far down on the list. It’s an unfortunate cost of Russia’s invasion. The Ukrainians have already done similar things with cell-based devices, it’s not some massive undertaking that would be new to them. It’s not like they’d make it front page news, either.
Really, it’s not even just Ukraine that could do something. Starlink can too, but because maintaining lists has no ROI they won’t until they’re forced.