US tech titan Elon Musk’s move to curtail Russian access to its Starlink satellites over Ukraine has likely disrupted the strategic command of Russian forces and limited their offensive capability, but the war continues.
Linking Russian drones to Starlink satellites operated by Musk’s SpaceX company would make them more accurate, extend their range and make them more difficult to intercept.
The satellites are also important for Russia’s command and control, a Western military source said, “the organization of an operational chain that allows the military at the top to command all levels of responsibility, combatants.”
“All militaries that have little money and need bandwidth use Starlink. It is flexible, it is not expensive and it complements military systems that do not allow for increased bandwidth,” the source added.
In the Ukraine conflict, US satellites “give Russian units real-time control over their forces and drones, an overview of the line of contact” so they can make better decisions, Ukrainian 429th Achilles Drone Brigade commander Yuriy Fedorenko told Freedom TV.
A high-ranking European official said the satellites are even more important because there is no real front line where the Russian and Ukrainian armies are in contact.
“It is a ‘kill zone’ several kilometers (miles) wide, patrolled by drones, where small mobile squads operate, trying to strike here and there,” the official told AFP.
“Many Russian soldiers are constantly passing through this area. These are key points,” Serhiy Beskrestnov, a technical adviser to the Ukrainian defense ministry, told AFP.
Ukraine claims that blocking Starlink would have an enormous impact on Russian forces. The AFP could not independently assess the collapse.
“For Russians, this is not just a problem, it’s a disaster,” Beskrestnov said. “We knew they used Starlink on the front end”, but “we didn’t believe it was that critical.”
The Russian side downplayed the consequences. Valery Tishkov, a communications officer for the Russian military, said Starlink was used sparingly and the military “has all modern, domestically-produced communications services. The operations control system works reliably and ensures command and control of troops at the front.”
According to several Ukrainian sources, Russia wanted Ukrainians to be paid to maintain legitimate Starlink accounts that could be used for front-line drones. Ukraine’s SBU security service has warned that this is a crime punishable by life imprisonment.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia has implemented alternative solutions, but these are not as reliable as Starlink’s low-orbit network. Russia instead used its Yamal and Express geo-stationary satellites, which are higher and less of them.
“They need a satellite receiver with a large parabolic antenna,” Beskrestnov said.
These are now a prime target for Ukrainian forces, and Russia has had to move antennas back 10-15 kilometers (six to nine miles) and deploy reinforced Wi-Fi from receivers to the front lines.
“We are trying to locate these terminals,” the advisor said.
Ukrainian forces regained territory from Russia in February, a rare occurrence in a four-year war in which they have steadily lost ground amid bitter battles that have claimed thousands of lives.
On February 5, Russian military observers reported that Starlink Internet terminals used by Moscow’s front lines were disrupted after Musk acted on a request from Kyiv.
A senior Ukrainian military official said counterattacks had begun on the front lines within a day, but did not give further details.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said that Ukrainian forces were possibly taking advantage of Russia’s loss of Starlink.
But so far no unexpected changes have taken place. “There are very few soldiers making direct contact with opposing soldiers and there is no mechanized combat (which forces progress), so progress is very slow,” a European military source said.
