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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
An officer, in particular, feared that limiting Starlink operation would give Russian forces a significant advantage.
Ukrainian troops on the front line are concerned by reports of Starlink satellite communications restrictions from Elon Musk. They warn that this could seriously affect conducting combat operations.
“This can be compared to a nuclear strike against us. All operations are suspended. It will cost many of us our lives,” said an experienced Ukrainian officer to Politico. He commands a unit of strike drones in southeastern Ukraine.
It is noted that to operate American Hornet drones and determine their routes, the unit actively uses Starlink. These drones are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 150 kilometers.
The officer noted that since last night, the speed of all Starlink and Starshield terminals used by Ukrainian forces has been limited to 100 kilometers per hour. Politico reporters spoke with three soldiers on the front line who agreed to tell the situation anonymously. The publication also received comments from a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and a high-ranking EU official responsible for defense issues.
According to Ukrainian troops, these restrictions halted some medium-range drone strikes. This hindered attacks on Russian logistics and left front-line units without adequate support. At the same time, it is unknown how widespread the outages were and whether they were intentional.
According to the officer, the restrictions led to “a complete halt of all operations involving medium-range strikes,” including operations using networked systems.
These systems rely on a single drone equipped with Starlink for receiving and transmitting signals to other drones connected via the network, enabling them to strike targets deep inside territory controlled by Russia, or in areas well-protected by Russian EW systems.
Among such targets are, in particular, Donetsk region, the important Novorossiysk highway connecting Russia to Crimea, the Crimean Peninsula itself, the Kerch area, and the waters of the Black Sea.
“We can no longer effectively wage battles to support our infantry on the battlefield. We can no longer strike missile launch systems, heavy self-propelled artillery of North Korean manufacture situated deep behind enemy lines, ammunition depots, command posts, and other targets,” said the officer.
Irina Terek, CEO of Ukrainian missile producer Fire Point, said that Ukrainian frontline forces largely rely on medium-range strike drones operating through the Starlink network. Meanwhile, for several months, Ukrainian medium-range strike drones have inflicted serious losses on Russian logistics near the front, disrupting fuel, ammunition, and other military supplies, causing Russian forces to advance more slowly.
The officer also fears that Starlink restrictions will give the Russian forces a significant advantage and help them strengthen their positions. According to him, from now on the Russian army will be able to more actively develop supply routes to Crimea to move additional forces there.
Two other Ukrainian soldiers who use ground robots and ordinary drones on the Donbas front confirmed to the outlet that on Wednesday Starlink suddenly stopped working for Ukrainian units.
Starlink terminal deliveries slowed amid the pressure from Donald Trump on Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries. This is linked to a deal between the U.S. president and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to return Russian diesel fuel to the world market.
“Obviously, this action cannot be accidental and is connected to the current political situation,” said Sergei “Flash” Beskrestnov, adviser to the Ukrainian president on developing defense technologies.
Meanwhile, EU defense commissioner Jens Kubilius, commenting on the increased U.S. pressure on Ukraine, stated during a Politico event on Wednesday that political events sometimes lead to unexpected consequences.
“ Elections are approaching. We largely depend on American space capabilities. The way out of this situation lies in developing our own capabilities,” he added.
Ukraine depends on Starlink
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Starlink has become an important part of Ukraine’s military operations. In spring 2022 year, defenders trapped in Mariupol used SpaceX satellite communications to transmit messages outside the city. In 2023 year, Ukrainian units also used this system to coordinate actions during fierce fighting near Bakhmut.
Ukrainian troops still use Starlink to quickly correct artillery strikes and to control sea drones during attacks on the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi previously noted that these terminals are extremely useful.
Ultimately, Ukraine’s military dependence on Starlink has always carried certain risks. The publication writes that in the early months of the war the company turned off terminals intended for use against the Russian fleet.
At the same time SpaceX took measures in Ukraine’s favor. In February Elon Musk’s company blocked access to Starlink terminals that Russia had been using illegally. This immediately caused serious problems for Russian forces, after which Ukraine began to use these devices more actively.
Yes, Ukrainian forces began widely installing Starlink terminals on medium-range strike drones. Without such connectivity, conducting operations would have been much more difficult. In particular, troops would have had to independently calculate terrain elevations, verify antenna accessibility, and install additional equipment for communications.
Ukrainian officers feared that a decision by the American authorities or by U.S. company leadership could suddenly worsen Ukraine’s position. Officer “Yura” told of his and his colleagues’ serious concern about how work would proceed without Starlink. According to him, soldiers have repeatedly discussed the possibility that Elon Musk or someone from SpaceX leadership could shut down the system.
Yes, one of the Ukrainian operators of medium-range strike drones spoke of significant communication problems 11 and 12 in September, and new outages 17 in September. He said military personnel from several Ukrainian units faced difficulties.
Outages with Starlink began shortly after visits by U.S. envoys Steve Bittkoff and Jared Kushner to Kyiv and Moscow. A Ukrainian pilot noted that a few days later the system began functioning normally again, but he took these events as a signal. He also said that Russian EW capabilities were unlikely to cause simultaneous outages of Starlink across multiple front sections. In his view, such problems covered too large an area to be explained by Russian equipment.
“So I think this was driven from some office,” he added.
Politico could not determine whether outages arose from intentional restrictions by the U.S. satellite operator or were caused by other technical problems.
Meanwhile, Starlink Starshield terminals were restored in Ukraine, and the system continues to operate. This was reported in the day of 15 October by Suspilne, citing sources in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
The ministry noted that they are still investigating the causes and circumstances of the restrictions recorded on 14 October. Due to these outages, a number of military operations were disrupted.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "«Це можна порівняти з ядерним ударом»: українські офіцери розповіли Politico про наслідки обмежень Starlink". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ZN.ua.
