Image: Starlink
SpaceX has reportedly taken a major step to curb Russia’s battlefield communications in Ukraine by blocking unauthorized use of Starlink internet terminals, a move Ukrainian officials say has already disrupted Russian assault operations.
According to a report from Reuters, Starlink internet terminals used by Russian troops in Ukraine have been deactivated, dealing what one Ukrainian official described as a significant setback for Moscow. Ukraine has long accused Russian forces of making unauthorized use of thousands of Starlink terminals for secure communications following the 2022 invasion, despite SpaceX maintaining that it does not do business in or with Russia.
“Starlinks included in the ‘white list’ are working — Russian terminals have already been blocked,” Ukraine’s newly appointed Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on Telegram, adding that the list of authorized terminals is still being updated. Ukraine said last week it was working directly with SpaceX to block Starlink terminals used by Russian attack drones and to compile a verified whitelist of Ukrainian-operated units so that Russian ones could be shut down.
While Reuters noted it could not independently verify the full scale of the disruption, multiple Ukrainian sources described the impact as severe. A Ukrainian military source near the front line said Russian units were struggling to communicate and attempting to fall back on Russian-made satellite systems. “It still takes more time to fully assess the impact. But I am sure that the accuracy and number of hits (from attacks) are decreasing,” the source said.
The disruption was echoed by Russian military bloggers as well. The pro-Russian Telegram channel “Two Majors” reported “a big failure of Starlink terminals on the Russian side” beginning Wednesday evening. Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister, went further, calling the situation catastrophic: “All command of the troops has collapsed. Assault operations have been stopped in many areas.”
SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment, though Elon Musk said on X earlier this week that efforts to stop Russia’s unauthorized use of Starlink “seemed to have worked.”
Starlink has played a pivotal role in Ukraine since the early days of the war, when SpaceX rapidly enabled coverage — often at no cost — to keep communications online after Russian attacks crippled traditional infrastructure. Since then, the satellite internet service has remained deeply intertwined with the region’s geopolitical tensions, even as it has grown into the dominant satellite internet provider globally, accounting for roughly 97% of all satellite internet usage worldwide.
