Russia tries to block Musk's Starlink to counter Ukrainian drones

Soldiers from the Ukrainian Armed Forces company Sparta prepare a Zozulia medium-range attack drone
REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Russia is trying to neutralize attacks by Ukrainian "intermediate range" drones by camouflaging payloads and installing powerful electronic warfare systems against Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet technology, according to a report from the Reuters news agency published on Wednesday (08).
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These drones, often operated via Starlink and capable of accurately and cheaply hitting targets tens of kilometers beyond the front lines, transformed the war in Ukraine with attacks at a distance of between 25 and 200 kilometers.
This allowed Ukraine to inflict significant damage on the logistics of supplying Russian troops within Ukrainian territory.
A reflection of this is Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia, which is now deals with chronic fuel shortages following a coordinated campaign by Kiev's troops against supply lines, fuel depots, air defense installations and command centers.
Attacks have focused on highways linking Mariupol, Berdyansk, Melitopol and Crimea - the main arteries supplying Russian forces fighting in southern and eastern Ukraine.
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Ukrainian commanders claim their continued offensive has forced Russia to use slower and less efficient refueling routes.
The drones would have made sections of the land corridor linking Russia and Crimea too dangerous, slowing the transport of fuel, ammunition and reinforcements.
Russia's response came with the Volna Kupol Garant jamming system, which emits a signal strong enough to destabilize the Starlink connection in an area of about 20 km², Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to the Russian Defense Ministry, told Reuters. Ukraine.
This is a significant development in the conflict, as Starlink was previously considered largely immune to interference.
A Zozulia medium-range attack drone flies after being launched by Ukrainian military company Sparta from an undisclosed location in southern Ukraine
REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Turning point in the war with help from Starlink
The turning point in Ukraine's favor in the war came earlier this year when SpaceX cut Russian forces' unauthorized access to Starlink, disrupting Russia's drone operations and communications.
This gave Ukraine an advantage, allowing improved drones to avoid detection, resist interference and carry out strikes with more precision, as Russia raced to adapt.
"The blocking of Starlink by Russian forces was one of the most significant developments on the battlefield this year," Rob Lee, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Eurasia Program, told the Associated news agency Press.
The success of Ukrainian medium-range strikes is a consequence of this change.
"What has changed is that now eight out of 10 missions are successful," Pharaon said. Just a few months ago, the success rate was the opposite, he said.
Suppliers from the Sparta company of the Ukrainian Armed Forces prepare a Zozulia medium-range attack drone
REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Russia's reaction
Russian forces were caught by surprise when the Ukrainian campaign intensified three months ago.

But they began mobilizing mobile anti-aircraft units and resorting to other tactics to intercept the drones, Ukrainian drone commanders and pilots told Reuters.
One of them is the use of sophisticated electronic jamming devices to block the connections used to fly the drones, some of them capable of disrupting Starlink systems - the Ukrainian Defense Ministry claims to have detected ten of them.
Some of these jamming devices were installed by Russia near cities and military installations, the military said Ukrainians.
Equipment of this type is targeted by Ukrainian soldiers for obvious reasons.
A video of a Ukrainian attack on one of these systems shows a large explosion after a drone hits a location containing six large trailer-sized boxes.
"Once we hit this facility, our Starlink-equipped drones flew without any problems," said a commander of Ukraine's 422nd Unmanned Systems Regiment operating in the southern region of Zaporizhia.
Other tactics Russia resorts to to keep the front lines supplied include hiding fuel and other military supplies in civilian vehicles, such as trucks that are supposed to be transporting water or milk. The logistical operation would also involve small civilian cars, quad bikes and motorcycles.
In addition, Russian troops would be using camouflaged shelters, abandoned buildings and agricultural structures to hide supplies, as well as civilian gas stations to store military fuel.
They would also have begun escorting convoys of fuel trucks with pickup trucks armed with machine guns and using secondary roads.

Source: G1

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