The Russians are in a state of genuine panic amid the Starlink shutdown, according to Ukrainian soldiers from the 118th, 65th, and 128th brigades on the Zaporizhzhia front, Suspilne reports.
їIn late January, after Russia's increased use of Starlink terminals in strike drones such as BM-35, SpaceX began implementing a set of technical measures to cut off Russians from satellite communications they had been using illegally.
Later, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced that a “white list” of Starlink terminals would be created in Ukraine. Only authorized devices under Ukrainian control will be allowed to operate on the country’s territory.
“Based on our interceptions, the Russians are genuinely panicking, even though they were warned about the shutdown of all black and gray Starlink terminals,” the soldiers report.
Communication disruptions and temporary relief
There is a noticeable problem with Russian communications, Dmitry Pelykh, head of the communications unit of the 118th brigade, told Suspilne.
“According to information from other sources and brigades, the intensity of Russian military actions has even decreased. In our sector, the use of FPV drones is somewhat lower than usual,” he adds.
Nevertheless, the Russians still have other means of communication, which affects coordination between units, and combat on the front line has not stopped.
“For us, this is a big advantage — combat drones that previously flew deep into Ukrainian territory via Starlink are now limited. Such changes will have a positive effect,” Pelykh says.
Ukrainian brigades detail Starlink crackdown: Russian terminals “became just bricks,” assaults disrupted
White lists, codes, and hundreds of terminals: new rules
A representative of the 118th brigade explains that the Russians had previously successfully used Starlink to manage battles, units, and logistics. Now, some terminals operate only through “white list” verification, which happens once a day.
Serhii Skibchik, head of communications for the 65th brigade, added that the Russians had installed Starlink on “Shaheds” and “Molniya” drones. Blocking these terminals gave Ukrainian forces a window of opportunity to respond more safely to threats.
“We can breathe a little easier because we know that the same ‘Molniya’ on Starlink will no longer arrive to drop explosives on civilians,” the soldier says.
He adds that it’s important to understand that “this is a situational relief, and the Russians will find some way to compensate for the lack of Starlink.”
Press officer of the 128th brigade, Oleksandr Kurbatov, noted that the new terminal verification rules caused temporary communication failures in his brigade, partly due to incorrect input of numbers and codes. However, minor problems were resolved quickly, and most terminals remained operational.
