Russia’s Rassvet Satellite Network Flagged as ‘Danger No. 1’ by Ukraine
07:23 GMT 18.10.2026 (Updated: 08:44 GMT 18.10.2026)
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While Ukraine frets over Starlink’s slowdown, Zelensky’s tech advisor is sounding the alarm about Russia’s answer to Elon Musk’s constellation.
At scale, Russia’s Rassvet satellite constellation will “be a big catastrophe,” according to Serhiy Beskrestnov.
“For me, this is danger No. 1 among the technological challenges Russia poses to us right now,” he said in an interview for Western media.
He believes Russia is already gaining the ability to control weapons such as the light cruise missile Banderol and Dan-M explosive payload-equipped kamikaze UAV by satellite in real time.
Full deployment of Rassvet would allow Russian operators to steer drones and missiles directly, rendering useless Ukraine’s electronic-warfare network.
“They will be able to attack in real time, and do it very precisely,” Beskrestnov said.
💥🇷🇺 Russian sovereign satellite internet system takes shape Russia is developing a global satellite internet network to provide high-speed connectivity worldwide The Rassvet constellation launched its first 16 satellites in March 2026, with hundreds more planned The network aims to deliver up to 1 Gbps speeds and low latency, creating a sovereign digital infrastructure
— (@SputnikInt) April 13, 2026
The Rassvet constellation launched its first 16 satellites equipped with 5G NTN communications, laser inter-satellite links, and plasma propulsion in March 2026, with hundreds more planned.
It aims to deliver up to 1 Gbps speeds and low latency, creating a sovereign digital infrastructure. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the system could support combat drones and was “not inferior” to Starlink.
20 September, 15:57 GMT
