(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Shortly before Russia launched an offensive in Kharkiv region, it disrupted the Starlink satellite service in the area, widely used by Ukraine's armed forces for communication, reconnaissance, and drone attacks.
The New York Times reported this with reference to the Ukrainian military and officials, Ukrinform saw.
Starlink, operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, has been critical for the Ukrainian military since the first days of the war with Russia, the publication writes.
It is noted that shortly before Russian troops crossed the northern border of Ukraine this month, servicemen from the 92nd Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noticed disruptions in Starlink signal. According to the Ukrainian military, this hampered their communication and situational awareness, forcing them to switch to average text messages.
According to the NYT, Ukrainian officials have indicated that Russia has deployed more powerful electronic warfare systems and more sophisticated tools to disable the Starlink system.
Read also: Poland to continue paying subscription fees for
Starlink terminals in Ukraine
The latest outages appear to be the first time the Russians have caused widespread disruption to Starlink, the article notes, adding that in case of further success, this would mark a tactical shift in conflict that will highlight Ukraine's vulnerability and dependence on services provided by Musk's company. Since the US and other countries' governments cooperate with SpaceX, these failures will call into question the reliability of Starlink in the fight against a technically capable adversary.
In an interview this week, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Development, Science and Technology, Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said that for the recent attack on Starlink, Russia likely used some more advanced technology.
Previously, this service proved excellent against e-warfare obstacles on the battlefield. However, the Russians are now testing various mechanisms to disrupt the quality of Starlink communications, because it is so important to Ukraine, Fedorov said, without dwelling into details of what he referred to as powerful electronic warfare systems.
He added that Ukraine is in touch with SpaceX to resolve the urgent issue. The company did not respond to the publication's request for comment.
Fedorov noted that Ukraine is constantly testing new systems. According to him, the military has specialized systems for naval drones, which have destroyed a number of Russian warships in the Black Sea. However, they are not mass-produced, he added.
Former Pentagon official and electronic warfare expert Kari A. Bingen believes that Starlink could have been disrupted by applying powerful radio frequencies to suppress communications channels. Stealth attacks are usually carried out from a vehicle with a large radio tower.
According to experts, Russia could have used special electronic warfare systems installed on drones to affect Starlink GPS signal.
It is noted that Starlink is not sold directly to Russia. However, this year Ukrainian officials publicly expressed concern that the Russian Federation was using terminals purchased through intermediaries.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, representatives from the Pentagon cooperating with SpaceX company managed to block the illegal use of Starlink satellite communication terminals by the Russian military.
Photo: Getty Images
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