Russia has begun jamming Starlink in an attempt to disrupt the new tactics employed by Ukrainian attack drones
In this way, the occupiers are attempting to counter the new Ukrainian tactics, which have caused serious problems for Russian logistics in recent months.
This is reported by Reuters, citing Ukrainian drone unit commanders operating in the Zaporizhzhia sector.
According to military sources, medium-range strike drones have become one of the most notable developments on the front line this year. They are capable of striking targets dozens of kilometres from the line of contact, destroying fuel depots, command posts, air defence systems and the Russian army’s supply routes.
It is thanks to such strikes that Ukraine has recently been regularly disrupting supplies to the occupying forces, in particular by causing a fuel shortage in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
To defend against these attacks, Russian troops, according to Ukrainian drone operators, have begun employing several new tactics:
- they are concealing fuel in ordinary civilian cars and milk lorries;
- transporting fuel in small convoys under the cover of pick-up trucks armed with machine guns;
- using secondary roads;
- hiding depots in civilian buildings, hangars and even at ordinary petrol stations.
But Russia is relying most heavily on electronic warfare capabilities.
According to Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (Flash), the Russians have begun deploying ‘Volna-Kupol-Garant’ systems, which generate such powerful jamming signals that they are capable of disrupting Starlink operations across an area of approximately 20 square kilometres.
However, these systems themselves quickly become targets for Ukrainian drones. Ukrainian intelligence has already identified around ten such systems.
The commander of one of the crews, with the call sign ‘Conductor’, told Reuters that the Ukrainian military had already destroyed at least two such installations in collaboration with the SBU.
“As soon as we struck this installation, our Starlink-equipped drones immediately began flying without any problems,” he said.
Reuters notes that SpaceX has not commented on reports of the new Russian electronic warfare systems.
At the same time, journalists point out that Starlink has become the main communication channel for most Ukrainian medium-range strike drones, and that Elon Musk had previously blocked the Russian military’s access to using this system for their own attacks.
American military analyst Rob Lee believes that the Ukrainian campaign of strikes against rear logistics has become one of the most significant changes on the battlefield in 2026. At the same time, he warns that if Russia is able to rapidly scale up production of new electronic warfare systems, this could significantly complicate Ukraine’s ability to carry out strikes deep behind enemy lines.
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