Владимир Зеленский. Фото: t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official
Ukraine has imposed sanctions on the Belarusian company Aerospace Devices, which, according to Kyiv, is involved in developing components for Russia’s Rassvet satellite communications system. The relevant decree was signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on October 30, his press service reported.
“The Belarusian company Aerospace Devices develops and prototypes components for aerospace systems,” the explanatory note states.
The company was added to the sanctions list alongside 10 Russian companies and 19 Russian citizens allegedly involved in developing the Russian satellite system.
“Russia seeks to have a satellite system similar to the Starlink network, which would enable it to command troops, guide and control attack drones, including Shahed drones, and missiles in real time. Deploying this system could help Russia not only maintain continuous real-time control over its weapons in Ukraine, but also create threats to other countries,” the press release says.
The sanctions list also includes the project developer and systems integrator Bureau 1440, as well as Labs 1440, FAB Rassvet, 5S Group, Aquamash, L-Optics, Elesar Group and Small Spacecraft.
“Rassvet is Russia’s attempt to create its own low-Earth-orbit satellite system and use it in the war against Ukraine and to pose threats to the entire world. The project depends on foreign technologies, equipment and components, so we are targeting these supply chains at the development stage and calling on our partners to synchronise sanctions,” said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the president’s adviser and commissioner for sanctions policy.
In addition, Ukraine imposed restrictions on 39 vessels belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet, which are used to export oil, petroleum products and gas condensate. These vessels transport Russian energy resources to China, India, Egypt, Turkey and other countries.
One of the vessels, the Vasily Dinkov, carried out 15 operations to transport approximately 726,000 tonnes of Russian crude oil in the first half of 2026 alone.
Some of the vessels are already subject to sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Switzerland and Australia.
Kyiv says that revenues from energy exports are one of the key sources of funding for Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Ukrainian side intends to share information about the vessels with international partners to coordinate sanctions.