Despite the restrictions imposed on the use of "Starlink", the Russian army can still control its drones online - thanks to network technologies, the so-called Mesh networks. These are networks of drones that coordinate with each other using modems installed on them. This was explained by Sergey Beskrestov, advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, in an interview with the Ukrainian Radio NV, excerpts of which were published on Sunday, February 8.
How do Mesh networks work?
The connection between drones in the Mesh network is built thanks to the fact that each modem is able to simultaneously transmit a signal to another and receive it. This creates a chain of drones in the air, which is preserved even if one of the links fails. Online control of drones in such a chain makes the attack more accurate than controlling the drone using GPS, Beskrestov explained.
"We see how the Russians are attacking at the moment - this is another story, this is control of shaheeds (ed. note: kamikaze drones) via radio modems, Mesh networks, but simply from Russia. For us and for me personally, this is a challenge. We will deal with this story (...) I am ashamed, this should have been done a long time ago, a few months ago," Beskrestov said. He did not specify how exactly the Mesh networks would be blocked.
Musk: The measures seem to have worked
In early February, the American company SpaceX, the creator of "Starlink", took measures at the request of Ukraine to prevent the use of the satellite connection by the Russian army. The terminals developed by the company stopped working at a speed of 75-90 km/h. Because of this, installing such a terminal on a long-range drone became less effective. In addition to speed restrictions, special verification is now required on the territory of Ukraine.
SpaceX introduced a "white list", which can only include terminals for the "Starlink" satellite Internet used by the Ukrainian side. Thus, the Russian army lost the opportunity to use the terminals in Ukraine.
"It seems that the measures we have taken to prevent the unauthorized use of "Starlink" by Russia have yielded results. Let us know if additional measures are necessary", commented SpaceX founder Elon Musk in early February on the X network.
What problems did the Russian military encounter?
In pro-military Russian channels on "Telegram", serious problems were reported among Russian soldiers with the connection at the front. The presence of the Internet helps, for example, drone pilots and commanders at the headquarters to receive images from the cameras installed on them, as well as maintain communication between soldiers and even collect money for the needs of the front, military analyst Yan Matveev explained to DW. The military correspondent of "Komsomolskaya Pravda" Alexander Kotz called the system Russia's "Achilles heel." And according to a report in the Frankfurter Rundschau, Russian troops fighting in Ukraine have asked for donations of old walkie-talkie transmitters after the connection with the Starlink satellites was cut. According to data cited by the publication, over 90% of Russian units in Ukraine were affected by the loss of connection.
Other Russian pro-military spokesmen and pro-government military experts have been quick to refute claims about the irreplaceability of Starlink. Some of them talk about Russian analogues of the terminals. Matveev suggests that part of the Russian army will apparently use Russian systems: "But they are very few. They work much worse."
Russia is not in the Starlink coverage area. But the Russian military has purchased terminals from third parties and used them during military operations. "These devices are simply sold in large quantities in stores. And all the others will be much more difficult to buy and use," Matveev said.
He explained that replacing satellite communication with radio stations could be a serious problem, since there are devices operating at the front that interfere with radio communication. In addition, the Russian army is experiencing a shortage of "good enough radio stations."
Russian propagandists also emphasize that the changes in the work of "Starlink" have also led to difficulties for the Ukrainian army. Back in 2024, Mikhail Fedorov, then Minister of Digital Transformation, spoke of a large number of "unofficial" terminals in the Ukrainian military. Now Kiev has demanded that SpaceX immediately block all devices on the internationally recognized territory of the country that are not directly related to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The military with private terminals were offered to register them through a special electronic system, which led to temporary connection problems on the Ukrainian side of the front. "There were problems with those who did not submit the lists of private terminals on time," commented Sergey Beskrestov on his Telegram channel.
At the same time, at the end of last week, he described the situation on the Russian side not just as a problem, but as a catastrophe. "The entire command of the troops has collapsed. In many areas, assault operations have been stopped", he explained then.
"Radio Liberty" and "Ukrainska Pravda" wrote at the end of last week, citing sources from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army and Ukrainian military circles, that after the blocking of the unregistered "Starlink" terminals, the Russian armed forces have sharply reduced the number of attacks on the front. According to the reports of the Ukrainian General Staff, on February 5 and 6 there were 56 and 62 combat clashes, respectively. While on February 2, 3 and 4 they were 147, 137 and 110, respectively.