Russian invaders are extremely actively using the illegal Starlink terminals of the American company SpaceX at the front. This gives the enemy an additional advantage, which played one of the key roles during the battle for Ugledar.
Points of attention
- The cooperation between Kyiv and Washington with SpaceX aims to prevent the illegal use of Starlink terminals by Russian soldiers.
- Elon Musk's team promised to deactivate the Starlink terminals for the Russian invaders, but has not yet done so.
Starlink and its role in the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine
American journalists draw attention to the fact that earlier the Defense Forces of Ukraine had the main advantage over the Russians, who were outnumbered and better armed — access to the Internet through Starlink terminals.
However, the enemy found a way to access Starlink as well.
As of today, the Russians, as well as the Ukrainian defenders, see the battlefield in real time with the help of drones and provide secure communication between the military.
The publication also managed to find out that the black market for supplying Starlink terminals to the Russians directly on the battlefield is currently actively operating.
And their proliferation has been an important factor in Russia's recent offensive victories.
One of the reasons for the fall of Ugledar
An officer of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, which has defended the Vugledar area since 2022 and was recently forced to retreat, called Russia's use of the Starlink complex one of the important factors, along with the lack of manpower and weapons, that hastened the fall of Vugledar, the publication writes.
In addition, it is emphasized that Starlink terminals appeared at Russian positions throughout the year.
However, only in the last few months has their influence become truly significant.
What is important to understand is that during the offensive, Russian soldiers use them to coordinate attacks. According to Ukrainian soldiers, they have been seeing Starlink systems on Russian positions since last month.
Currently, Kyiv and Washington are actively cooperating with SpaceX to "prevent Russia's illegal use of Starlink terminals in occupied Ukraine."
Elon Musk's team has publicly promised that it will deactivate the terminals if they are used by an "authorized or unauthorized party."
