Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns that Beijing is helping Moscow develop Rassvet, a satellite network designed to provide communications similar to those provided by Starlink. The Russian system could become operational in 2027 and would allow, according to Ukrainian officials, the identification and real-time tracking of targets on Ukrainian territory. Kiev calls for sanctions against Russian and Chinese companies involved in the project, according to Kyiv Post.
“We know that China is working on satellites and the possibility of assisting Russia with a system similar to Starlink,” Zelenski declared.
He added that the project is nearing completion and that the system is being transferred to Russia. The system is developed by the Moscow-based company Bureau 1440 and is designed to operate on an orbit approximately 800 kilometers above the Earth. The network is expected to use laser links between satellites and a terrestrial 5G infrastructure.
After the initial launches in July and August, military bloggers claimed that the system faced numerous technical issues. In September, Bureau 1440 announced that they are working on improved versions.
According to Intellinews publication, their development could benefit from China’s support. Zelenski warned that Rassvet could become operational at the beginning of 2027. The Ukrainian president has repeatedly raised the issue in discussions with American President Donald Trump. In September, at the UN General Assembly in New York, he called for sanctions against Russian and Chinese companies involved in the system’s development.
According to Intellinews, the satellite network could be part of the technical-military cooperation between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, informally known as the “CRINK alliance”. This cooperation aims, according to the cited analysis, to reduce the gap in the development of Western weapons systems.
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