Russian military bloggers on Thursday reported a sweeping outage of Starlink internet terminals across the front line in Ukraine after network owner Elon Musk shut them down following a plea from Kyiv.
At least nine bloggers close to the Russian army said connections had been lost, adding that this could weaken Moscow's ability to wage drone warfare and hinder coordination between units.
Moscow does not have a home-produced alternative to the satellite internet terminals.
"This is all very bad, especially given how crucial communications are at the front," blogger Roman Alekhin wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine has also widely used the terminals throughout the four-year war to enable frontline communications.
"'This is our Achilles' heel,' one good commander told me long ago about Starlink," Russian military blogger Alexander Kots said in a post.
Musk, who runs the Starlink network through his SpaceX company, said last week that efforts to stop Russian troops from using the devices had been successful.
"Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked," he wrote in a post on X.
Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov hailed the move earlier this week as having "delivered real results."
Russian drones equipped with Starlink terminals can better avoid electronic jamming and hit targets more accurately, Ukrainian officials have said.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
