The Washington Post, citing the Ukrainian military, notes that the Russian occupation army used electronic warfare to disable the Starlink terminals of the Ukrainian military on the first day of the offensive in Kharkiv region.
How Russian occupiers managed to jam Starlink terminals in the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Journalists of the publication note that the area of approximately 40 kilometers on the border between the Kharkiv and Russian Belgorod regions was protected by the 125th ground defence brigade.
The military used reconnaissance drones to monitor the preparations of the occupation army of the Russian Federation for the offensive.
However, on the morning of 10 May, all of the brigade's video channels were disabled by enemy electronic warfare.
Starlink satellite internet terminals, which provide the main communication for the Ukrainian military, were out of order.
It is noted that this is the second time such an incident has occurred since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by the criminal army of Russia.
According to the commander of a drone unit with the call sign ‘Artist’, the Ukrainian military simply lost contact with all their UAVs.
At some point, we were left completely blind... That was the biggest problem, we couldn't see how they moved, we only worked by radio or through phones, where they were still working,’ the military explained.
Russian army used recently formed brigades in the offensive in the Kharkiv region
The journalists note that for the offensive in the border areas of Kharkiv region, the Russian occupation army seems to have used new units that were formed and trained in the centre of Russia.
According to Dara Massicot, senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Russia views the offensive in the border areas of Kharkiv region as a limited incursion into the buffer zone.
The analyst expressed doubt that the occupation forces would attempt to capture Kharkiv at this stage, but warned that the offensive could be only the first stage of a long-term plan.
According to the journalists, Russia may be interested in creating a so-called ‘buffer zone’ to protect the Belgorod region from shelling and attacks from Ukraine.
Massicot noted that the Kremlin's priority remains the seizure of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.