The Ukrainian offensive against Russia earlier this year reclaimed about 400 square kilometers after thousands of Starlink portable internet terminals operated by Russian forces were deactivated, according to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, Bloomberg reports, according to UNN.
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This offensive marked Kyiv's first territorial gain since 2023 and took advantage of the fact that Russian military capabilities were "temporarily but significantly weakened" when the terminals were disconnected, according to the agency's latest report commissioned by the U.S. Congress on American aid to Ukraine, the publication writes.
Russian forces used Starlink terminals — developed and operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX — "to coordinate movements" and drone strikes, according to the report released this week and compiled by the Pentagon's Inspector General.
According to the report by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and U.S. European Command, "Russian military capabilities in Ukraine were temporarily but significantly weakened following February attempts by Ukrainian authorities to deactivate thousands of Starlink terminals illegally used by Russian forces to coordinate movements and unmanned aerial vehicle strikes in areas where communications were unreliable or easily jammed," the report concludes.
Russian forces in Ukraine faced a double blow to communications following the Kremlin's crackdown on the Telegram messenger — a decision that outraged Russian soldiers who use the app for battlefield communication.