The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Thursday that Russia’s Starlink satellite internet terminals in Ukraine have been “cut off,” disrupting Russian military communications.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said SpaceX, which owns Starlink, is working with Ukraine to update a “whitelist” of approved and verified Starlink terminals, while unapproved Russian systems have been blocked.
“The Starlink terminals added to the ‘whitelist’ are working. The Russians’ terminals have already been blocked,” Fedorov said in a statement Thursday. “We continue to verify Starlink terminals. The first batch of terminals that made it onto the ‘whitelist’ are already operational.”
A source at the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces claimed that “all Russian Starlinks have been cut off” along the front line as of Thursday evening local time.
Under US sanctions, Starlink cannot be sold to or used by Russia. However, analysts and Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia has increasingly been finding ways to leverage the system to its own advantage. CNN previously reported on Russia’s practice of mounting Starlink systems on its attack drones, which allow the weapons to bypass Ukraine’s electronic defenses that disable drones by jamming GPS and radio signals, and to strike deeper into the country.
Ukraine has also relied heavily on Starlink since the beginning the war, using it to operate military communications and drones, as well as information systems for public institutions like hospitals and schools.
“The enemy on the front lines is facing not just a problem, but a catastrophe. All command and control of the troops has collapsed. Assault operations have been halted in many areas,” said Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to the defense minister.
Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, said earlier this week that it was taking steps to stop Russia’s “unauthorized” use of the Starlink satellite internet constellation. Musk reiterated Thursday that it’s “important to register your Starlink terminal if in Ukraine.”
Russia’s Ministry of Defense has not addressed the claims of Starlink disruptions.
But Russian military bloggers began commenting on the Starlink outages on Wednesday and Thursday, noting that Russia’s internet and communications capabilities on the front line have taken a hit.
One pro-Kremlin military blogger, Boris Rozhin, wrote a Q&A-style post on Telegram, saying, “Yes, it will have a certain impact on internet availability in the field,” and “yes, there are no alternatives at all, right now.” He also claimed that Russian forces were working to bypass the block and to bring high-speed internet to the field using other methods.
Another Russian military blog, which supports the airborne special forces, tried to downplay the disruption, writing: “The Starlinks may have been shut down, but the backup communications are still there. The radios are working, and there’s communication between the positions.”
Some Starlink units used by the Ukrainian side were also reportedly cut off, although it’s unclear how widespread the disruption is, as the government continues the whitelisting process.
One Ukrainian combat officer, Tetiana Chornovol, posted on social media that “the shutdown of Starlink left my two combat positions without communication,” adding that her unit has since brought in an alternative communication system.
“It works for us,” a Ukrainian drone pilot said in a video posted to Telegram. “We immediately registered our Starlink terminal, and everything is fine.”
Meanwhile, the second round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States concluded in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, who was part of his country’s delegation, described the negotiations as “truly constructive.”
“I am grateful to the US and the UAE for their high-quality organization and mediation,” Budanov told the Ukrainian news agency RBC-Ukraine.
While no breakthrough deal came out of the two days of talks, Russia and Ukraine did agree to conduct their first prisoner exchange since October. Each returned 157 prisoners of war to the other side on Thursday, according to Russian state news agency TASS and US negotiator Steve Witkoff.
“While significant work remains, steps like this demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results and advancing efforts to end the war in Ukraine,” Witkoff said Thursday in a post on X.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the negotiators agreed to hold another round of talks “in the near future.”
CNN’s Ivana Kottasová, Daria Tarasova-Markina and Sophie Tanno contributed to this report.
