Russians jammed the AFU’s Starlink communication before the offensive near Kharkiv – Washington Post

Ukrainian Starlink services ceased functioning on the morning of the Russian offensive near Kharkiv.

This was reported by The Washington Post, citing Ukrainian military sources.

The communication failure, the first in over two years of war, was attributed by WP to Russian electronic warfare interference.

“At one point, we were completely blind. This was the biggest problem; we couldn’t see their movements and had to rely solely on radios or phones where they still worked,” said a drone unit commander with the call sign “Artist.”

Prior to this, Ukrainian forces had been monitoring the buildup of Russian troops in border areas in preparation for a possible attack. However, according to “Artist,” the drones “just disappeared” once the offensive began.

Recently, the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation stated that a Starlink shutdown would be “catastrophic for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” Discussions are ongoing about possible solutions to prevent Russians from using Elon Musk’s satellite communications in the war against Ukraine.

It was previously revealed that Musk had secretly disabled Starlink services off the coast of Crimea to thwart a Ukrainian attack on the Russian Navy. Drones loaded with explosives had approached their targets but suddenly “lost connection and harmlessly washed ashore.”