Russia and China against Starlink

Investigation The Insider, Der Spiegel and Le Monde showed: Russia and China discussed the fight against Starlink, new air defense/missile defense and the exchange of combat experience on drones.

Russia and China discussed joint fight against the Starlink satellite networkdevelopment of a new air defense/missile defense system and exchange of combat experience of the war in Ukraine. This is stated in an investigation by The Insider, Der Spiegel and Le Monde, based on documents on Russian-Chinese military cooperation.

According to The Insiderjournalists received documents from closed Russian-Chinese military-technical forums and negotiations. The materials cover several areas: space assets and anti-satellite warfare, integrated air defense and missile defense, loitering munitions, new generation armored vehicles and military aviation.

The investigation emphasizes that this is not about diplomatic rhetoric or the usual phrases about “partnership without restrictions.” The documents reveal a harsher reality – a structured military program where Russia gives China experience in the war against Ukraine, and China gives Russia technology, manufacturing, electronics and access to an industrial base.

In other words, Chinese “neutrality” is increasingly looking like window dressing. Outside there are peace statements and calls for negotiations. Behind the door is a discussion of the destruction of Starlink, joint missile defense, autonomous drone swarms and component supplies. Very neutral. Almost like a man with a can of gasoline who says he’s just interested in fire safety.

Starlink as the main goal

A separate part of the documents is devoted to the fight against Starlink, the SpaceX satellite network, which has become one of the key elements of communication on the Ukrainian front. According to the investigation, at a forum in Guangzhou in November 2023, Chinese specialists presented their Russian partners with a multi-level strategy to counter Starlink.

The Insider writes that the presentation was prepared by representatives of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, a key Chinese government space contractor. It saw Starlink no longer as a civilian communications system, but as a military infrastructure that supports reconnaissance, drone control, targeting and sustainable communications on the battlefield.

Three levels of action were proposed. The first is legal and diplomatic pressure: to seek restrictions on the expansion of the Starlink constellation under the pretext of the risk of collisions in low orbit. The second is to occupy the frequency ranges and orbital positions necessary for the development of the network, as well as create a joint electronic jamming architecture.

The third level is a direct attack: cyber influence through user terminals, infection of the network with malware and the development of cheap means of physically destroying satellites. In the documents, according to journalists, the idea of ​​“inexpensive” means capable of disabling satellites faster than SpaceX can replenish the constellation was directly discussed.

Why Starlink is so important for Ukraine

Starlink has become not a luxury for Ukraine, but a military infrastructure. Unit communications, evacuation coordination, artillery spotting, drone control, and data transmission operate through the terminals where conventional communications are suppressed or destroyed.

The Insider recalls that by November 2023, SpaceX had delivered more than 40,000 terminals to Ukraine, and Ukrainian officials called Starlink the “lifeblood” of communications infrastructure. The war quickly showed that satellite communications were no longer a background matter. It became the nervous system of the front.

That is why Russia is trying to jam this system. Reuters reported that Russian troops are using electronic warfare systems to jam Starlink to prevent Ukrainian drones from striking rear targets. Ukrainian commanders called such Russian complexes priority targets for destruction.

But in the documents published by The Insider, we are no longer talking only about local jamming at the front. It discusses the strategic struggle against the Starlink architecture itself: legally, frequency, cybernetic and physically. This is not “signal interference”. This is an attempt to figure out how to break the system as a class.

New air defense/missile defense with the participation of Almaz-Antey

Another key block of the investigation is the secret negotiations of the Chinese military delegation in Moscow in June 2023. According to The Insider, the delegation met with a Russian concern “Almaz-Antey”the main manufacturer of Russian air defense systems, including the S-300, S-400 and S-500 families.

Journalists claim that they have at their disposal a signed working protocol of negotiations dated June 5, 2023. Its authenticity, according to the investigation, is further confirmed by data on the flights of members of the Chinese delegation to Moscow.

The discussion is centered on the development of an integrated air defense and missile defense system of a new generation, designed to intercept ballistic missiles, maneuvering warheads and hypersonic missiles at the final stage of flight. According to the documents, the system should work against targets with high maneuverability and hit hypersonic objects at altitudes of up to 40 km.

If these plans come to fruition, we could be talking about a project that goes beyond the usual arms trade. This is already the joint development of a strategic shield against American and Western high-precision systems. That is, Moscow and Beijing are not just exchanging components. They discuss the architecture of a future war.

Russia gives war, China produces

The most unpleasant conclusion of the investigation for the West is the nature of the exchange. China has a huge industrial base, electronics, chips, sensors, AI modules, mass production of drones and loitering munitions. But Beijing does not have modern combat experience using these systems in high-intensity warfare.

Russia, on the contrary, gained this experience in Ukraine – at the cost of enormous losses, destruction and constant adaptation at the front. Therefore, according to the investigation, Chinese representatives proposed formalizing the exchange: Moscow would share data from the battlefield, and Beijing would share AI technologies, production facilities and components for a new generation of autonomous “swarm” munitions.

The Insider writes that at the Russian-Chinese forum in Yekaterinburg in December 2024, Chinese military researchers proposed transmitting data on Russian drone attacks in Ukraine to Beijing. For China, the Ukrainian war is turning into a training ground by proxy. For Russia, China is becoming an electronics warehouse and factory that cannot simply be shut down by sanctions.

This is the new partnership formula: Russia supplies blood and practice, China supplies brains, sensors and a conveyor belt. Cynically? Yes. Effective? Unfortunately, yes too.

Drones, microchips and sanctions evasion

The documents also talk about the exchange of supplies under sanctions: China provides chips, electronics and technology, and Russia provides raw materials and components to which China has limited access. Such an exchange does not look like one-time help. This is already an attempt to build a sustainable military-industrial link.

The Insider notes that the Russian defense industry is increasingly dependent on Chinese components. Even when weapons are formally manufactured in Russia, their electronics, sensors, storage devices or modules may be of Chinese origin.

This coincides with a broader picture in recent years: Western sanctions have made it difficult for Russia to access a number of technologies, but have not completely blocked it. Chinese companies, intermediaries, gray imports, third countries and dual use have become the technical sewer through which the Russian military machine continues to receive parts. It’s messy, but it works. The reality of sanctions rarely looks like a poster.

Starlink is used by both sides

A separate paradox of the war: Starlink does not officially operate in Russia, but Russian forces, according to media reports and investigators, still received terminals through third countries and used them, among other things, for drone operations.

For Ukraine, Starlink remains a critical communications tool. For Russia, it is both a desirable technology and a target for suppression. Moscow is trying to use what it can get illegally and destroy what helps Ukraine. There is no contradiction in this. This is simply a war where moral constructs have long given way to practical gain.

According to Reuters, SpaceX took measures against unauthorized access by Russian forces to Starlink. But the battlefield remains a gray area: terminals can be accessed through intermediaries, used outside official routes, and network counteraction becomes a separate front in electronic warfare.

What does this change for the West?

The investigation by The Insider, Der Spiegel and Le Monde destroys the convenient illusion that China is standing on the sidelines, simply trading, nodding diplomatically and waiting for peace. The documents, if their contents are confirmed, show something else: Beijing is using the war in Ukraine as a source of intelligence, and Russia as a partner to develop weapons against the United States and its allies.

This is especially important for Europe. If China helps Russia retain its arms industry while gaining combat experience, Europe is not faced with two separate problems – the Russian war and the rise of China. She runs into a bunch of them.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadefuhl told Der Spiegel that the findings on the scale of Chinese support for the Russian army are seriously alarming, and China must understand that this affects the core of European security. This is diplomatic language. Translated into ordinary terms: Beijing is not playing at neutrality, but at a long war against Western military advantage.

Why is this important for Ukraine

The consequences for Ukraine are direct. If Russia receives Chinese electronics, AI modules, manufacturing solutions and helps China analyze real drone attacks, then the war becomes even more technologically advanced and long.

Ukrainian innovations at the front – drones, Starlink, digital control, quick tactical decisions – have already forced Russia to adapt. But if Russia receives support from the Chinese industrial base, the Ukrainian advantage begins to erode faster.

This is why the fight over Starlink is so important. This is not a dispute about Elon Musk’s company. This is a debate about whether the Ukrainian army will have stable communications, control drones and the ability to strike Russian logistics. If this network can be suppressed or seriously weakened, not only communications will change. The rhythm of war will change.

Main conclusion

An investigation by The Insider, Der Spiegel and Le Monde shows that Russian-Chinese military cooperation has gone much further than official statements. The parties discussed the fight against Starlink, joint air defense/missile defense of a new generation, exchange of combat experience on drones and mutual supplies of technologies and raw materials bypassing sanctions pressure.

For Moscow, this is a way to compensate for technological lag and sanctions. For Beijing, this is an opportunity to obtain unique data on modern warfare and speed up its own military developments. This is an alarming signal for Ukraine and Europe: Chinese “neutrality” increasingly looks like a cover for systemic support for the Russian military machine.

The most dangerous thing here is not just the proposal to “destroy Starlink.” The most dangerous thing is logic itself. Russia and China are not building a one-time deal, but a military ecosystem: space, air defense, missile defense, drones, AI, electronics, combat experience and industry. For too long, the West has consoled itself with the idea that Beijing is sitting on the fence. Judging by these documents, he left long ago. Just not on the side where there are press releases about the world.

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