9 February 2026 Serhii Beshrestnov, adviser to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine on technological areas, reported in Telegram, that Russia urgently supplies various satellite Internet terminals to the front, hoping to replace Starlink after that, how Kyiv and SpaceX found a way to prevent the Russian military from using this service.
For reference: SpaceX — a private space company, founded by Elon Musk, which develops launch vehicles (Falcon 9, Starship), spaceships (Dragon) and provides Starlink satellite internet services. The company is known for reusable rocket stages.
According to him, Russia has access to several broadband providers, using Yamal and Express satellites. He also told, that the antennas resemble satellite television antennas with a diameter of about 60–120 centimeters, oval or round. They are oriented mainly to the southeast or south, with an azimuth of approx 110-180 degrees, and remain visually uncovered, as the protective covers may interfere with operation at the relevant frequencies. Such antennas can be placed deep behind the front line and connected to forward positions using Wi-Fi bridges.
Beshrestnov warned earlier, what after that, how Ukraine blocked Starlink terminals, which are used by Russian troops, the next challenge will be countering the enemy using a mesh network (system from several interconnected Wi-Fi devices (nodes), which work as a single seamless network with a single name) to dynamically relay control signals to its drones.
2 In February, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov announced the beginning of the inspection of Starlink terminals inside the country. He said, that only verified and registered terminals will work in Ukraine, while others will be disabled, to counter the use of Starlink by Russian forces.
5 Beskrestnov said in February, that Russian troops stopped the offensive in many areas of the front line due to a massive shutdown of Starlink satellite communications, calling the situation a "disaster" for the enemy.
Source: https://english.nv.ua