Russia's Reliance On Starlink Became Vulnerability For Drones, Assault Plans

Russian forces in Ukraine were far more dependent on 'gray', eg, illegal Starlink usage than had been previously understood by almost all informed analysts - evidently including those in the Kremlin. Intercepts of Russian communications indicate that there are no available alternatives to Starlink which are anywhere near comparable.

Starlinks' performance enhanced drone operations due to their range, and were essential to coordination between assault, artillery and drone units. The performance of Russian troops since the stoppage has significantly degraded, giving the Ukrainians an opportunity they have seized to improve their own positions and damage the Russians'. JL

Olena Mukhina reports in Euromaidan Press:

Almost all frontline coordination and communication in Russian forces relied on 'gray' Starlink terminals. "The Starlink shutdown caused real chaos for the Russians and disorganized them." The Starlinks enabled real time drone control with minimal signal delay making them largely immune to electronic warfare disruption. Russia has no Starlink equivalent, as "available alternatives are significantly inferior." The Ukrainians have used this advantage to launch a series of counterattacks to improve positions and disrupt planned Russian attacks. 

The blocking of “unregistered” Starlink terminals revealed a significant vulnerability and technological lag of the Russian army, emphasizes expert Oleksandr Kovalenko. The Ukrainian General Staff used this situational advantage to launch a series of counterattacks, improving positions ahead of the spring-summer Russian offensive.

For a long time, almost all frontline coordination and communication in Russian occupation forces relied on “grey” Starlink terminals as the primary communication tool.

Within Russia, Starlink use is impossible, as it is programmatically blocked, but as soon as a terminal approached the Ukrainian border, it became operational.

The presence of “grey” Starlink terminals in Ukraine allowed Russian forces not only to organize high-quality satellite communication between units, but also to actively use them for strikes deep into Ukraine’s rear areas.

Ukrainian liberation actions in February 2026

From 11 to 15 February, Ukrainian forces liberated 201 km² of territory, although official Ukrainian sources did not comment.

Russian war correspondents noted an increase in Ukrainian activity immediately after the blocking of “grey” Starlink terminals.

According to Kovalenko, active operations occurred not only near Huliaipole and the Haiçur River, but also along the Stepnohorivske and Dobropilske directions and the Lyman-Kupiansk axis, covering a much wider area than maps indicate.

“The Starlink shutdown caused real chaos in Russian forces and temporarily disorganized them,” Kovalenko says.

Starlink was the basis of Russian strike operations

By the end of 2025, almost all frontline coordination of Russian occupation forces relied on “grey” Starlink terminals. Their presence in Ukraine enabled:

• High-quality satellite communication between Russian units;
• Control of tactical strike drones such as Molniya-2, Shahed-136, BM-35 ‘Italmas’, and decoys like Herbera;
• Real-time drone control with minimal signal delay, making them almost immune to electronic warfare (EW).

“Starlink was not only the backbone of general military communications for Russian forces, but also enabled systematic strikes on Ukraine’s rear areas,” says Kovalenko.

Disorganization of Russian forces and Ukrainian successes

The terminal shutdown caused chaos and temporary disorganization of Russian units, which Ukrainian forces exploited:

• Pushed Russians from Novoaleksandrivka, Verbove, and Vyshneve (Dnipropetrovsk region);
• Expelled them from Ternuvate and Kosivtseve to the left bank of the Haicur River;
• On the Stepnohorivske axis, the occupiers tried to consolidate in the Stepnohorivske landscape reserve, liberated Prymorske, and Lukianivka.

Despite Russian attempts to replace Starlink with other systems, alternatives are significantly inferior, making full substitution impossible.

Starlink was not only the backbone of general Russian communications, applied across all levels from frontline encounters to rear areas, but also allowed Russian forces to conduct systemic strikes deep into Ukraine’s rear.

Even when Russian forces lost stable satellite communications, attempts to replace Starlink with other systems failed.

“For one simple reason — Russia has no Starlink equivalent,” Kovalenko notes.

Older-generation communication systems are significantly inferior, so they cannot fully replace them.