'Please use with caution': Elon Musk warns that starlink can be 'targeted' by Russia, advises caution

San Francisco, United States

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, warned that his company's Starlink satellite broadband service could be the next "target" of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The warning follows one by an internet security researcher who warned that satellite communication devices could serve as "beacons" that Russia could target for airstrikes.

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"Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution," Musk tweeted.

He asked users to "turn on Starlink only when needed and place antenna away as far away from people as possible" and "place light camouflage over antenna to avoid visual detection."

Musk said Saturday that Starlink was now active in Ukraine and that SpaceX was sending more stations after a Ukrainian government official tweeted asking Musk to provide the embattled country with Starlink stations.

It was reported Monday that Ukraine had received donated satellite internet, terminals from Starlink, but an internet security researcher warned these could be targeted by the Russians.

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"...if #Putin controls the air above #Ukraine, users' uplink transmissions become beacons ... for airstrikes," John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab project, tweeted.

"#Russia has decades of experience hitting people by targeting their satellite communications," he added in a series of 15 tweets detailing the risks.

Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov thanks Starlink for "keeping our cities connected and emergency services saving lives!". However, he added, that due to Russian attacks on infrastructure, the country needs generators to maintain Starlink's service.

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In response, Musk said SpaceX would update its software to reduce peak power consumption so that Starlink could be charged from a car's cigarette lighter.

"Mobile roaming enabled, so phased array antenna can maintain signal while on moving vehicle," he said.

In their first sign of progress since the invasion, which Moscow calls a "special operation," Russia and Ukraine have agreed that humanitarian corridors and possibly a ceasefire around them are needed for fleeing civilians.

(With inputs from agencies)