SpaceX Blocks Russia’s Starlink Access but Ubiquiti’s Tech Remains Ubiquitous

Ukrainians are praising SpaceX founder Elon Musk for his actions to stop Russia’s military from using the satellite internet system Starlink for communications and drone guidance. But another U.S.-based tech company, Ubiquiti, is facing backlash for its silence amid revelations that Russian forces are widely using its products to extend Wi-Fi signals, despite U.S. restrictions.

New Registration List Disrupts Russian Use of Starlink

Starlink, introduced in Ukraine shortly after Russia’s February 2022 invasion began, has offered a communication advantage to Ukrainian troops. But over time, Russian forces also began using the system, with Russian companies acquiring the terminals via intermediaries in third countries. In recent months, Russia began actively using Starlink terminals to allow for operator control of Molniya-2 and BM-35 drones conducting reconnaissance and strikes behind the front lines.

After being appointed as Ukraine’s defense minister last month, Mykhailo Fedorov contacted SpaceX to devise a solution. Within days, officials in Kyiv said that Starlink terminals used by Russian troops in Ukraine had been shut off after Ukraine and SpaceX created a Starlink “whitelist” — a formal registration list of authorized terminals — to stop unauthorized Russian use of the system.

Ubiquiti Silent as Company’s Products Remain Available in Russia

In contrast to SpaceX’s response, Ubiquiti and its CEO, Robert Pera, owner of the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team, have not publicly commented on a January 2026 investigation by Hunterbrook Media that documented widespread use of its products by Russian forces. Ubiquiti is the world’s most prominent manufacturer of Wi-Fi “bridges” that extend signals over long distances and are used by Russia’s military for critical communications and drone operations in Ukraine.

Ubiquiti’s products appear to be widely available in Russia, mostly sourced from distributors in third countries such as Kazakhstan and Turkey, Hunterbrook found. One Ukrainian communications officer told the outlet that an estimated 80 percent of the Russian bridges he observed near the front line had come from Ubiquiti. Russian units often receive the bridges from volunteers who purchase them using crowdfunded money.

Despite Previous Violations, Ubiquiti Fails to Adequately Monitor Distribution

In 2014, Ubiquiti agreed to pay a $504,225 settlement to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control after revelations that its products had been delivered to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions from 2008 to 2011. The U.S. government requires companies to ensure that their distribution networks do not re-export their products to sanctioned entities. But in 2025, Ubiquiti claimed it did “not have any visibility on the location or extent of purchases of our products by individual network operators and service providers from our distributors.” In or around September 2025, Ubiquiti may have banned firmware updates for IP addresses originating in Russia, but the company has not blocked individuals in Russia from obtaining its products and finding workarounds to use them.

Swift Action Works — Now Treasury and Commerce Must Step Up

Preventing further Russian use of American technology should be a high priority for the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments. Evidence that American products, like those made by Ubiquiti, are still sold and used by Russian forces indicates a failure to enforce the restrictions currently on the books. Commerce and Treasury should move quickly to address violations, penalize companies that turn a blind eye to their distribution networks illegally selling their products in Russia, and close potential loopholes.

Dmitriy Shapiro is a research analyst and editor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Keti Korkiya is a research analyst. For more analysis from the authors and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Dmitriy on X @dmitriyshapiro. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.