Starlink loss a blow to Russian forces in Ukraine, say experts

Elon Musk's move to cut Russian access to his Starlink satellites over Ukraine has probably disrupted Russian forces' tactical command and restricted their offensive capacity, but the war goes on.

US tech titan Elon Musk's move to cut Russian access to his Starlink satellites over Ukraine has probably disrupted Russian forces' tactical command and restricted their offensive capacity, but the war goes on.

Linking Russian drones to the Starlink satellites operated by Musk's SpaceX company makes them more accurate, extends their range and makes them more difficult to block.

The satellites are also important for Russia's command and control, "the organisation of the operational chain that allows the military at the top to give orders to all levels of responsibility, down to the combatants," said a western military source.

"All armies that have a little money and need bandwidth use Starlink. It's flexible, it's not expensive, and it complements military systems that do not allow for increased bandwidth," the source added.

In the Ukraine conflict, the US satellites "gave Russian units real-time control over their forces and drones, to have an overview of the line of contact" so they could make better decisions, Yuriy Fedorenko, commander of the Ukrainian 429th Achilles Drone Brigade told Freedom TV.

The satellites are even more important as there is no real front line where the Russia and Ukrainian armies are in contact, according to a high-ranking European officer.