In early 2026, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were able to regain control of about 400 square kilometers of territory thanks to the successful disabling of thousands of Starlink satellite terminals illegally used by the Russian military.
In early 2026, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were able to regain control of about 400 square kilometers of territory thanks to the successful disabling of thousands of Starlink satellite terminals illegally used by the Russian military.
This is stated in the latest report of the Pentagon Inspector General, prepared at the request of the US Congress based on assessments by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the US European Command, Bloomberg reports .
According to American analysts, the combat capabilities of Russian troops in Ukraine «temporarily but significantly deteriorated» after the Ukrainian military blocked the operation of thousands of illegal Starlink antennas in February. The occupiers used satellite communications from Elon Musk’s SpaceX company to coordinate battlefield maneuvers and adjust drone strikes in areas where other communication channels were unreliable or jammed by electronic warfare.
The situation for the enemy was further complicated by the fact that the Kremlin simultaneously tightened restrictions on the use of the Telegram messenger, popular among the military, creating a double collapse in the communications system on the front line.
The scale of the problem for the occupiers was confirmed by the well-known Ukrainian military expert and advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Serhiy «Flash» Beskrestnov. According to him, the loss of satellite communication was a real catastrophe for the enemy, which led to the collapse of command and the halt of the offensive in many areas of the front.
At the same time, DIA intelligence emphasizes that despite the successful shutdown of the terminals, as of March, Russia still maintained an overall combat advantage in most areas.
Earlier, the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdy, call sign «Magyar», assessed how the enemy is coping with its tasks after blocking Starlink. According to him, these Russian solutions are now far from perfect, but over time they will improve and perform their functions.
Recall that Russia is testing an alternative to Starlink: the Rassvet satellites are already regularly flying over Ukraine. In March, the Russian Federation launched the first batch of Internet satellites to create its own network like Starlink.
