Why is Starlink so important for the Ukrainian army?
On the night of October 14, Ukrainian drones unexpectedly began losing connection. Elon Musk disclaimed responsibility, stating that such decisions are made by the Pentagon and the president. So, what exact role does Starlink play in the Russia-Ukraine war, and in whose hands are its reins?
Why is Starlink so important for the Ukrainian army?
The satellite communication that the Ukrainian army has relied on for more than four years became the center of a dispute between Kyiv and Washington this week. The restriction was announced on October 14 by Serhiy Beskrestnov, an advisor to the President of Ukraine on defense technologies.
"Our armed forces were not warned about these restrictions, and this led to the failure of a number of missions," he wrote.
According to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, during that day, communication was disconnected at even lower speeds. By evening, communication was restored up to 160 kilometers per hour, but the limit itself remained. Ukraine's former Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov thanked Musk, writing that completely removing the limit is "crucial" for Ukraine's defense.
The "nervous system" of the battlefield
Starlink is not just ordinary internet for Ukraine, but the army's primary means of communication. George Barros, director of innovations at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in the US, called it the "backbone of Ukrainian military communications" in a comment to the BBC. According to him, the system connects drones, artillery, and command posts into a single real-time network, which shortens the time from target identification to striking.
Ukrainian drones are fitted with a small terminal of Starlink or its military version Starshield, which maintains continuous communication with satellites passing overhead. Video from the drone's camera goes via satellite and ground station to the internet, and from there to the screen of an operator hundreds of kilometers away. The operator's commands return to the drone in the exact same way. Conventional radio communication does not reach far, and the enemy can suppress it more easily using electronic warfare tools. Satellite communication, on the other hand, is less dependent on distance and more resistant to jamming.