The Ukrainian army, outgunned and outgunned by the enemy, has a huge advantage over the enemy: the Internet through Starlink terminals. However, now the Russians have it too.
Russian forces are using illegally acquired Starlink terminals in the war for combat coordination and effectiveness of their tactical reconnaissance and strike complex in Ukraine. The Washington Post reported it.
The publication noted that the Ukrainian army, outgunned and outgunned by the enemy, has a huge advantage over the enemy: the Internet through Starlink terminals. Now the Russians have it too.
There is currently a growing black market for Starlink delivering terminals to the Russian front, and their distribution has been a major factor in the Russian Federation’s recent successes during its offensive.
An officer of the 72nd mechanized brigade that defends the area of the city of Ugledar, in a comment to the publication, called the use of Starlink by the Russian invaders one of the important factors, along with the lack of manpower and weapon, hastening Ugledar’s downfall.
In addition, the military explained that the use of Starlink was one of the factors that helped the Russian Federation advance on Pokrovsk.
Russia’s use of Starlink was not the only factor that helped Moscow push Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in Donetsk, but it clearly played a role, military commander Alexander criticized what he said was insufficient which was in response to preventing Russia from using the link .
Starlink terminals are one of the few advantages Ukraine has against the larger, albeit less modernized forces of the Russian Federation, but now the Russian Federation has closed the technological gap. The number of Starlink terminals has been growing in positions in Russia throughout the year, but only in recent months has its impact become truly noticeable.
“The US and Ukrainian governments are working with SpaceX to prevent Russia from illegally using Starlink terminals in occupied Ukrainian territory, including drawing the US Treasury Department’s attention to potential sanctions violations related to international smuggling,” said Department of Defense spokesman Charlie Dietz.
SpaceX cited a post on X in February that said the company deactivates terminals if they are being used by an authorized or unauthorized party.
Today, Ukraine and the United States are facing difficulties in solving the problem of using Starlink in the Russian Federation, especially against the background of Russia’s evasion of sanctions and the technical problem of banning access to Starlink network without harming Ukrainian troops. It was noted that the company has the technical ability to determine the location of active terminals, however, it is difficult to identify users on the front edge of the combat zone, where both Ukrainian and Russian troops operate.
Starlink is offered for sale on many websites in Russia. To activate the device, users in the Russian Federation need a phone number, email address and bank account to pay the monthly subscription fee.
We remind you that the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov said that Ukraine has found a way that will help significantly limit the ability of the Russian military to use Starlink terminals.
It was also learned that Russia plans to create a low-orbit satellite constellation that will provide broadband Internet access.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.