A high-ranking Russian military leader confirmed Tuesday that SpaceX Starlink satellite terminals utilized by Russian forces have been offline for a fortnight, though he maintains the outage hasn’t disrupted their unmanned aircraft operations.
Deputy Defence Minister Aleksei Krivoruchko stated during a State Television interview: “Starlink terminals have been down for two weeks, but this has not affected the intensity or effectiveness of the troops’ unmanned systems, as confirmed by data from objective monitoring of damage to enemy equipment and personnel.”
This Russian confirmation comes roughly fourteen days after Ukrainian authorities announced that Moscow’s military had lost access to these satellite communication devices.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov had previously reported the terminals were cut off, with other Ukrainian leaders claiming the disruption significantly impacted Russian military capabilities.
Ukraine’s armed forces depend on thousands of Starlink satellite connections for battlefield communications and controlling certain drone missions.
Ukrainian forces reported discovering SpaceX-manufactured Starlink terminals aboard Russian long-range attack drones earlier this month.
