Starlink shutdown exposed scale of Russian dependence on the system – Flash

“We generally understood that they were using Starlink technology, but the scale of it came as a surprise even to us. … Right now, none of the Russians’ command-and-control channels are functioning on the front lines. This applies to FPV pilots, electronic warfare units, radio reconnaissance, communications with the forward line of battle and other areas,” Beskrestnov said.

According to him, Russian forces are now trying to “quickly find some solutions, but everyone understands that it is very difficult to do so, because Starlink was a very simple and ideal technology.”

Flash said that isolated issues with Starlink terminals used by Ukrainian troops who did not manage to register their devices quickly will be resolved promptly, and that new “whitelists” are being submitted to SpaceX daily.

“Right now, we are working very closely with SpaceX, and once a day we send SpaceX an update with the numbers we receive from the military and from civilians,” he said.

Serhii Beskrestnov described the process as “hard work” for Elon Musk’s company as well, noting that “SpaceX is also introducing such restrictions for the first time in the world.”

“That is why not everyone there fully understands how to do this correctly or how quickly it should be done, and there may be some problems at first. But we all understand why this was done. We have now stopped the enemy’s attempts to attack us with drones using Starlink,” Flash added.

He recalled that Russian forces had recently begun using Starlink on small drones such as Molniia or BM-35, and that using Shahed drones with these terminals was only a matter of time. “This posed a very serious threat to us, and that is why we decided to take these very critical actions on our side,” the defense minister’s adviser said.

On Feb. 2, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced the launch of Starlink terminal verification in Ukraine. He said that only verified and registered terminals will operate in the country, while all others will be disconnected to counter the use of Starlink by Russian forces.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk agreed to help Ukraine address the issue.

On Feb. 5, Defense Ministry technology adviser Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov said Russian troops halted assaults in many sections of the front line due to the mass shutdown of Starlink satellite communications, calling the situation a “catastrophe” for the enemy.

Later the same day, Fedorov confirmed that Starlink terminals used by Russian forces in the war against Ukraine had already been blocked, while registration of Ukrainian terminals, including through administrative service centers, is ongoing.