Russians React to Starlink Shutdown Along Front Line

Russian occupying forces have reported widespread failures in battlefield communications after losing access to Starlink satellite terminals.

Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) reported the shutdown of Starlink terminals has been recorded along the entire line of contact, forcing Russian units to rely on domestic satellite systems that troops themselves describe as ineffective.

In one intercepted conversation, a Russian serviceman bluntly criticizes the quality of a Russian satellite terminal commonly referred to as “Gazprom.”

“As far as I know, that Gazprom thing is f**king shit,” the Russian says.

According to HUR, Russian troops have been scrambling to find so-called “no-analogue” alternatives to Western satellite communications, but with little success.

“The neighbors have a ‘Gazprom’ terminal. It works on those ‘Gazproms,’ yeah, sure — when it actually connects,” another serviceman says sarcastically.

Intercepted communications indicate that even when Russian units have access to domestic satellite terminals, they are largely unusable under combat conditions due to unstable connections and insufficient bandwidth.

“Yeah, maybe something changed now, but before that we had to go over to the neighbors — the 76th unit, the big VDV one. They had a ‘Gazprom’ terminal too, and it just couldn’t handle the video stream,” the Russian complains.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian “Gazprom” terminals operate via the Yamal satellite constellation, which consists of five geostationary satellites. HUR notes that this number is insufficient to provide stable coverage along the entire front line, as most of the system’s satellite capacity is allocated to users inside Russia.

The company operating the system has been under international sanctions since Feb. 23, 2024.

The loss of access to Starlink, Ukrainian intelligence says, has already caused serious disruptions for Russian forces, affecting unit coordination, logistics, and the use of unmanned systems — both ground-based and aerial.

On Feb. 4, SpaceX shut down gray- and black-market Starlink terminals in Russia and occupied Ukraine, after Kyiv asked for help.

This did not affect Ukrainian forces, which use official Starlink terminals to share intelligence and target information quickly.

For Russian units, though, hundreds of terminals stopped working, cutting off key communications and drone operations.

Recent intercepted calls also revealed worsening conditions in the Russian military.

One soldier complained of a lack of basic supplies, which led to troops dying on supply runs, while another admitted that various personnel – including cooks – were being used as infantry during frontal assaults.

Earlier last year, Kyiv Post also interviewed “Maria,” a professional eavesdropper with HUR, who said the “insane” things heard in intercepted calls are, in fact, real despite their often outrageous nature.

“They all are real even though they might seem insane. Sometimes I can’t believe the words I’m hearing myself, but we have what we have,” she said.

Kyiv Post regularly reposts some of the most revealing and shocking intercepted conversations:

‘What Do You Mean ‘Refusal’? Move Forward’ – Russian Commanders Force Troops Into ‘Meat-Grinder’ Assaults

‘A Monster, a Fascist’: Intercept Shows Russians Panicking Over Budanov’s Appointment

‘Gas Canisters Not Issued, F**k’: Russian Soldiers Crowdfund for Basics, Die on Supply Runs

‘Three Holes in His Leg and Shrapnel in His Neck’ – Just 2 Russians Survived ‘Meat Assault’

Russian Woman Says: ‘Trump Will Lead the Horned One,’ Jews Will Rule the World

‘Brelok F**king Ate Him’: Intercept Reveals Russian Cannibal Soldier

‘They Drive Tanks for Vodka’ – Intercept Reveals Drunk Russian Troops Terrorizing Border Village

‘We Already Took His Stuff’: Russian Soldiers Plan to Kill Comrade, Intercept Reveals Brutal Army Reality

‘We Need to Take Odesa’ – Russian Woman Cites Fake ‘Biolabs’ to Justify Mykolaiv Attacks

‘The F**king Guys Are Dying!’ – Intercepted Call Reveals Chaos and Command Breakdown in Russian Army

‘They Even Ate Theraflu, Mom’ – Intercept Reveals Russian Soldiers Starving on Front Lines