(Dan Tri) – Ukrainian soldiers said they were having trouble connecting to American billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service, an important device that helps Kiev carry out attacks on Russia.
Ukrainian soldiers use a Starlink satellite internet device (Photo: Reuters).
Ukrainian soldiers told US media that they have continuously had problems connecting to Starlink in recent times, and said that the Russian side also seems to be using this satellite internet system.
According to Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines, connection speeds with Starlink have decreased in recent months and they experience intermittent problems when using internet service.
It is unclear what causes this condition.
Ukraine has received tens of thousands of Starlink antennas since the beginning of hostilities with Russia.
Starlink allows the Ukrainian army to have a reliable and powerful information system.
Mr. Musk’s contribution is important because in modern warfare, with stronger opponents, having a strong communications satellite network is considered a strategic `weapon`.
However, the situation is becoming unfavorable for Ukraine due to Starlink’s instability.
A soldier operating the communications system in Zaporizhia named Misha complained that connection problems began appearing three weeks ago.
`We started to notice poor connection quality. The system kept crashing, requiring a reboot to work properly. However, soon after, the speed started to decrease and the connection dropped again.
A soldier operating a UAV in Zaporizhia said his unit has had problems with Starlink since January.
`Before 2024, the speed was much higher. Now it is reduced to only half. I read information about Russia buying Starlink through a third country and using them on the front line,` said soldier Anton of
According to this person, the same number of Starlink satellites are now serving twice as many connected devices, so `of course the speed will decrease`.
Many other Ukrainian units also admitted they had problems connecting to Starlink in recent times.
In February, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIU) said Russian forces were using the Starlink satellite communications system on the battlefield.
Both Mr. Musk and Russia later denied the above information.
Last month, Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov revealed that Kiev was `working with SpaceX` to find a way to disable Starlink terminals used by Russia in war zones.
