Kremlin uses secret weapon against Starlink in Ukraine

Russia has released a secret weapon to destroy the SpaceX Starlink satellite in Ukraine.

Russia is trying to block Ukrainian troops’ access to the Internet through Starlink satellite communication.

Source: The Washington Post with reference to a classified US intelligence report

Details: According to information from The Washington Post, Moscow has experimented for months with its Tobol electronic warfare systems in a bid to disrupt Starlink’s transmissions in Ukraine.

According to the findings, it is noted that a program "ostensibly designed to protect the Kremlin’s satellites can be employed instead to attack those used by its adversaries".

SpaceX, the firm that owns Starlink, declined to comment. Last spring, Musk briefly addressed the Kremlin’s attempts to target the technology, writing on Twitter in May that while Starlink had demonstrated its resilience against such "jamming & hacking" attempts, the Russians appeared to be intensifying their efforts.

Kostiantyn Zhura, a spokesman for the Ukrainian defence ministry, said that officials in Kyiv are aware of Russia’s efforts and are "taking measures to neutralise them". The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

The Washington Post recalled that Starlink has proved vital to Ukraine’s military, which relies on the small portable terminals to communicate across the battlefield and relay intelligence. Russian forces have had success disabling the ability to use other communications equipment, including radios and cellphones, but satellite signals are harder to disrupt.

It is unclear whether Starlink outages that have been reported in Ukraine were the result of Russia’s Tobol experiments or other jamming capabilities used by Russian forces, such as the truck-mounted Tirada-2 system.

Ukrainian troops reported having experienced disruptions in October, as they moved toward Russian positions during successful counteroffensives in the south and east. Ukrainian officials suggested at that time that SpaceX had restricted internet access in those areas to prevent the Russians from using the service.

Analysts have identified at least seven Tobol complexes in Russia, all of which are located next to facilities used to track satellites.

Although Russia’s positioning of Tobol complexes across the country could suggest they are being used for defensive purposes, the three sites disclosed in the US intelligence assessment – one outside Moscow, a site near Crimea and another in the western Russian exclave of Kaliningrad – are the closest facilities to Ukraine, making them suitable for an offensive operation.

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