Ukrainian troops post video of rare Russian Starlink alternative being destroyed by drones

Ukrainian soldiers from the 1st Separate Assault Regiment have hunted down a Spirit-030, a Russian satellite communications terminal, on the Huliaipole front.

Source: 1st Separate Assault Regiment named after Dmytro Kotsiubailo on X (Twitter)

Details: The unit did not specify when exactly the terminal was destroyed.

"The Spirit-030, a rare Russian alternative to Starlink, has been hit. It was destroyed on the Huliaipole front by an FPV crew from the 2nd UAV Battalion of the 1st Separate Assault Regiment named after Dmytro Kotsiubailo,"it said.

The Regiment said the Spirit-030 is a portable satellite internet terminal with an antenna just 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter, making it difficult to detect.

The 1st Separate Assault Regiment said Russian forces have been deploying the terminals on a large scale since March 2026, when their access to Starlink was blocked.

Russia is also turning to other home-grown alternatives to Starlink. Major General Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, reported earlier that Russia is rolling out the Rassvet satellite system significantly faster than originally planned, describing it as a Russian counterpart to Starlink.

Ukrainska Pravda reported earlier that Ukraine and SpaceX introduced terminal verification on 2 February in response to the Russian military's illegal use of Starlink terminals on attack UAVs. The Starlink terminals used by Russian forces were subsequently blocked entirely.

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