Russian Troops Reportedly Loses Starlink Access in Ukraine

Russian bloggers began reporting Starlink satellite communications outage on the front for Russian troops, with one claiming that a tenth across the front was blocked starting Tuesday, Feb. 4.

Starlink is a satellite internet service developed by billionaire Elon Musk’s tech firm SpaceX, providing high-speed internet connection using low-Earth orbit satellites. Starlink exports to Russia were officially banned, though some have been smuggled into the country and subsequently the Ukrainian front.

Pro-Kremlin war journalist Roman Saponkov, who facilitates the purchase of Starlink terminals for Russian troops, said “about 10% of all Starlink terminals were blocked across the entire front” in a Telegram update on Feb. 4.

Saponkov did not specify how he obtained the information.

Tatyana Kruglova, another pro-Kremlin war journalist, also reported “mass blocking of Starlinks” the same day on Telegram with an insult for Musk, though she also did not specify where she obtained the information.

“There was a mass blocking of starlinks … And now f**k you Elon Musk with such jokes,” Kruglova said.

Neither specified which part of the front was affected. Kyiv Post cannot verify the authenticity of the claims.

Newsweek, which reported the developments, reached out to SpaceX and the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email but received no comments at the time of publication.

Other Topics of Interest

Russia Turns Cheap Decoy Drones Into Kamikaze Weapons

A high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 2.5 kg was discovered inside a relatively low-cost foam-plastic decoy drone meant to pass for a kamikaze UAV used by Russia.

Musk provided thousands of Starlink units to Ukraine at the beginning of Russia’s 2022 invasion, allowing Ukrainian troops to communicate on the front despite the lack of ordinary cell connection.

Despite Musk’s subsequent fallout with Kyiv, Starlink remains a valuable asset for Ukrainian troops, with the Pentagon began purchasing Starlink devices for Ukraine from SpaceX.

USAID, a US humanitarian agency that Musk vowed to shut down in recent weeks, has reportedly funded part of Starlink purchases for Ukraine and was conducting an audit into the purchases, leading to reports of Musk’s potential conflict of interest over his remarks and actions.

Though Russian troops have also gained access to Starlinks via smuggling, a Pentagon official told Bloomberg in May 2024 that the US is actively working with SpaceX to block Russian access to Starlink.