Russian battlefield operations crippled after Starlink service cut
Starlink / Twitter
After Kyiv and SpaceX adopted a whitelist of Starlink terminals allowed to operate on Ukrainian territory, the intensity of Russian attacks on the front has dropped notably, Suspilne public broadcaster reported on Feb. 5.
Dmytro Pelykh, head of communications for Ukraine’s 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said Russian fire intensity has fallen noticeably.
“According to our interceptions, the Russians are actually panicking, despite being warned in advance that all unauthorized Starlink terminals would be disconnected,” he said.
“You can feel they’re having communication problems. Other brigades report a slowdown in Russian operations. On our axis, the use of FPV [first-person view] drones is below normal intensity.”
Pelykh called the disruption “a very big plus” for Ukrainian defenders.
“We won’t see those same combat drones flying deep into Ukraine with Starlink coverage,” he said. “This restriction should yield positive results.”
He added that until recently, Russian forces had successfully deployed Starlink.
“Last year our units located and destroyed about 40 Starlink terminals,” Pelykh said.
“We spent extra FPV drones on that effort. Now, with a single software change or button push, they have deactivated every terminal that had to be physically destroyed.”
Serhiy Skibchik, head of communications for the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said the Starlink cutoff has given Ukrainian forces “a window of opportunity.”
“The Russians were mounting Starlink on Shahed and Molniya strike drones,” he said.
“Now we can breathe easier, knowing those drones can’t connect to the network, drop explosives on civilians or military vehicles, or disrupt our logistics. It’s a bit of relief, but situational. The Russians will develop ways to compensate for the loss of Starlink.”
Skibchik added that any UAV flying faster than 90 kilometers per hour now loses its satellite link, even if its terminal is whitelisted.
Major Oleksandr Kurbatov, press officer for the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade, reported minor, short-lived communication glitches in his unit after Ukraine’s new Starlink verification rules took effect. Most errors stemmed from terminal numbers being entered incorrectly (using Cyrillic instead of Latin characters) in the accounting software.
On Feb. 2, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced the launch of a Starlink terminal verification system in Ukraine. Only registered and whitelisted terminals will operate; all others will be turned off to prevent Russian military exploitation.
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