Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims China will transfer a Starlink-alternative to Moscow that could allow Russia to 'dominate the skies over Ukraine'

Zelenskyy says China is passing Russia technology for a Starlink alternative that could give Moscow dominance in Ukraine's skies The system is Bureau 1440's Rassvet, which has launched 32 satellites against a 2026 plan of 156 and has lost at least one Kyiv has not publicly named any Chinese firms or shown evidence, and Beijing has previously rejected similar accusations even as Ukraine aims to push for US permission to use Starlink over Russia to hunt missile launchers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says China is giving Russia the technology to build its own version of Starlink and warns it could give Moscow a decisive edge in the skies over Ukraine.

Zelenskyy made the remarks to reporters in Pryluky, where a Russian cruise missile struck an apartment building on October 7 2026, killing 22 people, including five children.

He said he has been telling partners in the US and Europe that China is working on alternatives to Starlink.

" They're getting closer.

They're passing this on to Russia.

Russia could end up dominating ," he said, according to LIGA.net's translation.

A warning months in the making even if the impact so far is limited This isn't a new narrative from Kyiv; In August, Zelenskyy said Russia was developing its own answer to Starlink with Chinese help and expected it to be ready by December 2026.

On September 30, Ukraine's acting ambassador in Washington, Denys Sienik, urged the US to sanction entities behind Russia's Rassvet satellite network, warning that a launch by year's end would let Russia "hit Ukrainian targets in real time on our territory," with Reuters describing those entities as Russian .

Three days later, Zelenskyy told the Financial Times he had asked Donald Trump several times, most recently on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, to sanction the Russian and Chinese firms involved, saying Beijing "works on the possibility of helping Russia with a similar Starlink." On October 4, he went further, telling journalists that " the Chinese will share with Russia " relevant technology around the turn of the year.

The network at the center of all this is Rassvet ("Dawn"), built by Bureau 1440, a subsidiary of Russia's IKS Holding.

Its first 16 production satellites launched in March, around three months late, and a second batch of 16 followed in July, for a total of 32 satellites so far.

Russia's federal rollout plan called for 156 satellites in 2026 and 292 by 2027 , which means that with less than three months of the year left, Russia has launched roughly a fifth of this year's target.

The satellites that do exist have had a rough ride.

Rassvet-3 No.