The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have launched a counter-offensive on the front line after Russia was banned from using Elon Musk's Starlink terminals, FOKUS reported.
The AFU has launched local counter-attacks to restore communication between front-line positions between southern Dobropil and northern Varvarovka, The Telegraph reports, citing a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Geolocation data shows counter-attacks near Ternuvaty, Dobropil and Zaliznychen, not far from the border between Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions.
ISW analysts believe that the Ukrainian counter-attacks are a response to favorable battlefield conditions created in part by Russia's loss of Starlink terminals.
The publication notes that almost 90% of Russian units have lost communications after Musk orchestrated a service outage earlier this month. The decision was made after it became known that the Russians were installing Starlink terminals on "Shahed" strike drones.
Russian communications have also suffered due to the Kremlin's decision to introduce new restrictions on the use of Telegram, a popular messenger used by Russian soldiers in the war against Ukraine.
The publication notes that in addition to local counterattacks, Ukraine has intensified strikes on military facilities in Russia. In particular, Ukraine attacked one of the largest ammunition depots of the Russian army, located near Volgograd, and a missile plant in the Tambov region with "Flamingo" cruise missiles.
"Ukrainian forces also destroyed 6,000 drones near Sudzha in the Kursk region, which was one of Moscow's biggest losses to date", the publication writes.
On February 1, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX had taken measures to restrict Russia's use of the Starlink satellite communication system.
Musk's actions are directly related to Ukraine's demand to resolve the issue of the use of Starlink terminals by Russian attack drones "Shahed".
On February 9, Taras Mishak, senior communications officer of the 59th separate assault brigade of the Airborne Forces "Steppe Predators" "Yakov Khandzyuk", stated that after the Russians were disconnected from Starlink satellite communications, the Ukrainian military detected fewer enemy drones in the rear.
On the same day, the advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, a specialist in communication systems, Serhiy Beskrestnov with the call sign ''Lightning', reported that information was being received about the urgent delivery of satellite Internet terminals to the front for the Russians to replace Starlink.