Ukraine asks the US to block the Russian Rassvet satellite system

Kyiv has asked US President Donald Trump several times to block the Russian Rassvet satellite communications system. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stated this in an interview with the Financial Times.

Zelensky asked to impose sanctions against companies that take part in the project. According to him, “Rassvet” will increase the accuracy of strikes of the Russian Armed Forces.

Also at the end of August, Kyiv sent a note to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) asking that the republic be excluded from the coverage area of ​​Russian Rassvet satellites in all frequency bands. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga spoke about this. “We call on all partners to support our position and take all possible steps to block the operation of Rassvet,” the diplomat said.

Problem for Ukraine

Russian Rassvet satellites will become a big problem for Ukraine. Adviser to the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Sergei Beskrestnov, call sign Flash, warned about this. Predicting the imminent launch of the Rassvet satellite into orbit, he recalled that Russia is a space state.

Flash explained that the main threat is that the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) cannot use Starlink for online control of UAVs over Russia. And the Russian army will be able to cover targets throughout the republic, controlling drones online via satellites. In addition, he noted that Rassvet will improve the quality of communications for the Russian Armed Forces in the combat zone.

Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of Ukraine, Major General Vadim Skibitsky, revealed that so far Rassvet is only able to operate in fragments: the system is active only at those moments when a particular satellite flies over Ukraine. But, he pointed out, Russia has begun to implement its system more actively than planned, and a full-fledged constellation will appear in orbit in the foreseeable future.

Ukraine tried to disrupt the first launch of the new Russian constellation of communication satellites of the Rassvet project from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. At the moment of launch, the facility was attacked by drones, the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov, told President Vladimir Putin. Despite an attempt to interfere with the launch, the rocket went off normally and the satellites were successfully launched into orbit.

Plans for the implementation of "Dawn"

“Rassvet” is a Russian project of a low-orbit satellite constellation designed to provide broadband Internet access. Bloomberg called Rassvet an analogue of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink satellites.

The first batch launch of 16 satellites from Bureau 1440 was carried out in March from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. On July 19, the second batch of devices was launched. In total, the operator plans to perform dozens of launches, which will allow the formation of a constellation of several hundred satellites. They want to begin commercial operation of Rassvet in 2027.