"What is killing us": WP found out how Starlink's connection helps the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to move in Ukraine
About it writes The Washington Post, citing six Ukrainian soldiers and officers from units fighting in Donetsk region. As noted in the edition, Starlink's satellite communication from Ilon Mask SpaceX was previously one of Ukraine's advantages on the battlefield. In particular, it is used for communication, intelligence collection, drones of drones and artillery. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were mostly used to transmit radios.
However, according to the Ukrainian military, the Russians managed to overcome this technological gap. The officer of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade said on the conditions of anonymity that the use of Starlink was one of the important factors, along with the lack of live strength and weapons that accelerated the occupation of the coal this month.
According to the publication, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation increased the number of Starlink terminals throughout the year, but over the last few months their effect was particularly noticeable, as the Russians have used them to coordinate attacks during the offensive. Ukrainian reconnaissance operators noted that they saw Starlink in Russian positions near Novogrodivka since last month.
"Earlier, the Russians could not control some of their movements, maneuvers, artillery, infantry," said the 93rd mechanized brigade of the 93rd mechanized brigade. - "Now they will only improve, and, unfortunately, it happens everywhere. " Because Russian companies and individuals are not allowed to sell Starlink, a gray market has emerged, caused by high demand from the army. Most of them buy in Europe and transport through the UAE.
To activate the device, the Russians need a foreign phone number, e -mail address and bank account to pay a monthly subscription fee. Users in the Customer Support Chats on Telegram, which journalists have read, say it is easy to buy and register Starlink kits abroad. The chats also warn that the Federal Communications Commission has not informed the UN regulatory body that Starlink may disable individual terminals based on their identification numbers and block a signal in certain territories.
However, analysts say that it is difficult for Ukraine and the US to solve the problem with the use of Starlink in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. One source of the publication has stated that SpaceX can determine the location of the active terminals based on their signals sent to the satellites, but it can be difficult to recognize the user on the "front land", where both Ukrainians and Russians are fighting.
The Ukrainian military, for their part, also expressed fears about blocking Starlink in certain territories, as this may affect their terminals. The authors of the material note that Ukrainians have not yet seen the results of the mentioned control methods. According to the retired Ukrainian Lieutenant General Igor Romanenko, the use of Starlink in the operations of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is only increasing.
The commander of the unit, which is among the 47 brigade Alexander also added that Starlink is not the only factor that helped the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in promotion, but he clearly played his role. "This is what kills us," the military says. Recall that the Russians install Starlink on Shahda. According to experts, the means of satellite communication will help the Russians to receive valuable information, including video, and traditional methods of RBs do not interfere with it.