Zelensky: “Russia’s ‘Lasbet’ satellite internet to be deployed at the end of the year and at the beginning of the year… Request for sanctions from the US”

Russia's self-developed satellite internet 'Lasbet' targeted

Claimed to be “deployed as early as the end of this year or early next year”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lim Hwa-seop = Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky requested the United States to sanction Russia's own satellite Internet service, 'Rassvet', which is being developed with Chinese support, and will be operational at the end of this year or early next year.

In an interview with the Financial Times (FT) reported on the 3rd (local time), President Zelensky said, "We know that China is developing satellite technology and is exploring the possibility of supporting Russia by developing something similar to Starlink."

President Zelensky said he had repeatedly asked the Trump administration to impose sanctions on companies involved in the development of this system, and that he also requested sanctions be imposed when he met with President Trump at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.

President Zelensky warned that if Russia operates Lasvet, the accuracy of air strikes could increase.

The Russian military used Elon Musk's SpaceX satellite communication 'Starlink' for drone guidance for a while, but it was later blocked by Musk.

Rob Lee, a military expert at the U.S. think tank Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), said, “LasBet may not be as effective as Starlink, but Russia can use it as a better alternative to Wi-Fi bridges to transmit video (from aerial drones) to the command center,” and explained that this satellite network can be used for ground, sea, and medium-range strike drones.

There are also concerns that if Lasvet is developed and put into operation, it could give Russia an advantage in carrying out sabotage operations against Ukraine's allies in Europe.