The Armed Forces of Ukraine have made their biggest breakthrough on the front line in over two years. The reason: SpaceX restricted Russian military access to Starlink.
Details
The Wall Street Journal reported on Ukraine’s territorial gains. According to the report, in February, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX limited Russian access to Starlink satellite internet through a “whitelist” system. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, received verified access.
“Without Starlink, they were effectively thrown back to Cold War communications,” said a Ukrainian military officer with the callsign “Konosh.”
After losing access to Starlink, Russian forces weakened, and Ukraine regained around 380 square kilometers of territory. These include temporarily occupied settlements in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Due to communication disruptions, Russian drones became less effective. The loss of satellite internet affected coordination, and Russian units could no longer quickly share targeting data.
Situation Inside the Russian Army
Russian troops switched to radio communication after losing Starlink. This allowed Ukrainian forces to intercept their messages. According to a Ukrainian intelligence specialist, they were able to hear direct Russian commands, sometimes even a day in advance. Ukrainian forces used this information to launch counterattacks. Some targeted Russian rear positions and involved small units.
Reports also suggest that Russia used Starlink to maintain control within its units and even monitor Ukrainian forces. Now, however, Russian troops face growing isolation. Russia is trying to restore communications by laying cables between positions. At the same time, the Kremlin is attempting to limit the use of Telegram and push troops to switch to the state system Max. However, Russian soldiers do not trust it.
They also use local wireless networks and alternative satellite services. Still, these options are less effective than Starlink, which was also significantly cheaper. Ukrainian forces estimate that Russian coordination has recovered to about 60%.
Earlier, The Ukrainian Review reported that Ukraine’s Defense Forces disrupted a planned large-scale Russian offensive operation that Moscow intended to launch in March 2026.
