Russian “military correspondents” announced a massive shutdown of Starlink terminals in the combat zone

For many units of the Russian Army, Starlink equipment was the most important, and sometimes the only way to access the Internet for coordination and communication. “New Europe” discussed with experts the consequences of such a decision by Elon Musk.

"Leg" Starlink

“Starlink (communication complexes) are “laid down” along the entire front. The enemy does too,” said Vladimir Romanov, author of the Romanov Light telegram channel, on the evening of February 4. “We are receiving confirmation that Starlink terminals have been turned off at the front,” said the “Two Majors” telegram channel. “The enemy also writes about his problems in his channels.”

“Almost 90% of my sponsored units are without the Internet now,” confirmed the telegram channel “Belarusian Security Forces”.

— Let’s hope that Starlink has a massive failure, but it is very similar to the tests before the introduction of regulation of the operation of dishes over the territory of Ukraine.

Now it becomes clear that units without communications cannot work effectively. This will be news for some in high offices.” In another post, this TG channel notes that “Starlink mobile terminals are the only variation for both sides of the conflict as satellite Internet. There are no others. In Ukraine it’s clear, but in our case, no matter how blasphemous it may sound, it’s “analogous.”

TG channel Alex Parker Returns wrote that Starlink “white lists” have been officially activated in Ukraine. “No amount of terminal reboots will help,” said Alex Parker Returns. “This will hit the forward assault reinforcement groups the hardest, for example, in Kupyansk. They have lost any possibility of communication with the mainland.”

Elon Musk said that terminals in Ukraine need to be registered. And Advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Sergei Sternenko wrote that the Russians are talking about a massive shutdown of Starlink in units at the front. “If this is really the case, then the Ukrainian army will regain its advantage in communications, and the enemy will have a number of problems with command and control at the tactical level,” said Sergei Sternenko. — I will ask Ukrainian users again: immediately register your terminals in the DELTA system. It’s fast and doesn’t require balancing.”

"White lists"

Media reports , citing Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov, that the country's government has decided to rewrite all Starlink satellite Internet terminals operating in the country in order to create a “white list” of registered devices and disable all others. “This is a reaction to the Russians using Starlink. Russian drones equipped with a terminal are difficult to shoot down. They fly at low altitude, are resistant to electronic warfare and are controlled by an operator in real time even at long distances,” Fedorov wrote in his Telegram channel. According to Mikhail Fedorov, the introduction of a “white list” is the only technical option to counter the Russian army in the field of communications.

“Today, “white lists” of Starlink terminals are actually being created, the owners of which will be required to undergo authorization and verification according to a special registration procedure,” Alexander Kovalenko, military-political observer of the Information Resistance group, tells New Europe. — Terminals that do not pass this procedure will be disabled. Since Russian troops use equipment illegally imported into the occupied territories to access the Internet, they will not be able to pass authorization on their “gray” terminals. And at a certain moment, their entire connection should completely “fall”.

At the moment, all Starlink complexes moving at speeds above 75 kilometers per hour are definitely turned off. After all, this means that they are installed on drones used by the Russian side.

Communication at fixed communication centers along the front line will also soon be disrupted.”

“White lists are an attempt to take control of all Starlink terminals that operate on the territory of Ukraine,” military expert, reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Roman Svitan tells Novaya-Europe. — Elon Musk could have turned off his equipment operating on the Russian side of the front earlier. The last straw, apparently, was the use of Starlink in attack drones attacking civilians, as was the case in cases of attacks on trains. Currently, the restriction is imposed on terminals moving at speeds above 75 kilometers per hour. But stationary systems that are not officially registered with Ukrainian control authorities will also be turned off.”

Russian drones, according to Roman Svitan, will require the use of repeater drones, which will complicate communication and make it less secure for electronic warfare systems.

Alexander Kovalenko explains that for some time now Russians have been installing Starlink terminals on their drones, thus ensuring uninterrupted and high-quality communication with them. The expert lists the drones that are modified using Starlink: Shahed-136, BM-35 Italmas, Molniya 2, as well as decoy drones such as Gerbera. This allows the operator to control the UAV in real time and significantly increases the effectiveness of the attack. Now the drone can be used even against moving targets. Thus, for example, a train in the Kharkov region and a bus with miners in the Dnepropetrovsk region were attacked. Russians will no longer have such an opportunity. According to Alexander Kovalenko, turning off Starlink will greatly simplify the work of mobile fire teams hunting for drones and increase their interception rates.

Without the Starlink complex, Russian drones, according to Alexander Kovalenko, will be controlled via a much less secure communication channel, which means they will be more seriously affected by electronic warfare systems. The accuracy of strikes will decrease. A significant number of drones will be destroyed or suppressed on the way to the target.

Pigeon mail

“The shutdown of Starlink terminals will affect all combined arms communications in the Russian army,” Alexander Kovalenko continues the story. — After all, almost all communication on the front line is via the Internet of Elon Musk’s company. Russians will have to return to standard - unreliable and outdated - means of communication. It is clear that we will see attempts to bypass the ban, hacking attempts and hacker attacks on Starlink. But the Russian Army simply has nothing to replace these complexes with. It is this type of communication that ensures the mobility and coherence of troops. Without Starlink, the Russian army will return to the era of pigeon mail.”

Roman Svitan notes that the lack of high-quality communications will become a problem for the Russian army. Indeed, during offensive operations, reliable communication systems are especially important, allowing timely giving of orders, receiving information and managing the battle. In order to deploy their communications systems, the Russians will need considerable time.

“A communications breakdown can cause significant problems for invaders and reduce the success of combat operations,” adds Alexander Kovalenko. — Even with Starlink in service, the Russians showed a low level of interaction. Now it will get much worse, which should become a global problem.”