How Starlink and Telegram outages hit Russian army – Estonian intel
Photo: Starlink restrictions halted Russian drone attacks (starlink.com)
Restrictions on the operation of Starlink terminals and the Telegram messenger have significantly slowed the coordination of Russian troops and reduced the intensity of their attacks, stated Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the Intelligence Center of the Estonian Defense Forces, ERR reports.
Impact on Russian military command and control
According to the Estonian intelligence chief, SpaceX’s decision to disable Starlink access for Russian forces and Russia's attempts to restrict the use of Telegram have made it more difficult for the Russian army to wage war.
This directly affected the speed of information transfer within enemy units.
"Restrictions on Starlink reduced the number of Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian rear units, while limitations on social media platforms slowed the flow of information within the Russian Armed Forces at the horizontal level," Kiviselg explained.
He added that as a result, fire control and coordination between the units were disrupted.
"It cannot be said that the Russian chain of command somehow collapsed, but these events certainly had an impact on it," the head of Estonian intelligence noted.
Situation on the front line
Kiviselg said that last week the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out a successful counterattack in the Zaporizhzhia region, halting enemy advances and regaining control over certain areas.
At the same time, the situation in the Donetsk region remains difficult:
- Pokrovsk direction: Russian forces are trying to encircle Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk but have failed to achieve their objective after several months of intense fighting.
- Other directions: Active clashes continue in the Lyman, Sloviansk, and Kostiantynivka directions.
According to Estonian intelligence, the average number of combat engagements remains stable at around 200 per day.
Strikes on infrastructure
Over the past week, Russia launched around 1,100 drones and 60 missiles at Ukraine. The most massive attack took place on February 17, when energy facilities and civilian infrastructure in 12 regions came under fire.
In response, Ukraine carried out precision strikes on oil terminals and plants in Russia’s Krasnodar and Perm regions, as well as in Chuvashia and the Belgorod and Pskov regions.
Russian drones using Starlink
Earlier, it was reported that Russian troops had increasingly begun using Starlink terminals directly in their strike drones to improve communication and navigation over long distances.
At the same time, SpaceX said it is taking steps to cut off Russian access to the Starlink network in the occupied territories of Ukraine, as Russia is obtaining the equipment through third countries.
It was also reported that Russia had attempted to find or create its own equivalent of Starlink, but technical shortcomings and the lack of the necessary satellite infrastructure have prevented it from securing a stable replacement.
In addition, Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, Mykhailo Fedorov, explained why Starlink is critically important for Ukrainian forces. According to him, satellite communication forms the backbone of unit coordination and drone control amid intensive enemy electronic warfare.
