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Ukraine Makes Fastest Battlefield Gain in 2.5 Years as Starlink Disruption Hits Russia Hard
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukrainian forces regained 201 square kilometers of territory last week, marking the largest area recaptured in such a short period since June 2023, according to an analysis of Institute for the Study of War (ISW) data reported by France24 on February 16.
The newly reclaimed ground is nearly equivalent to Russia’s total territorial gains during December and represents the most significant rapid advance by Ukrainian troops since the early stages of the 2023 counteroffensive.
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The fighting occurred roughly 80 kilometers east of Zaporizhzhia, an area where Russian forces had made notable progress beginning in the summer of 2025.
Analysts say the Ukrainian counterattacks likely benefited from Russia’s recent loss of access to Starlink satellite internet terminals on the front line.
“These Ukrainian counterattacks likely exploit the recent blocking of Russian forces’ access to Starlink, which Russian military bloggers claim is causing communication and command-and-control problems on the battlefield,” the ISW assessment stated.
Russian troops reportedly lost effective use of Starlink terminals in early December after SpaceX introduced a whitelist system allowing only terminals authorized for Ukrainian use to operate.
Following the cutoff, pro-Russian Telegram channels described serious communication breakdowns along the line of contact—disruptions analysts say may have opened tactical opportunities for Ukrainian advances.
Earlier, reports emerged that Ukraine started advancing in the Zaporizhzhia region after Russian units reportedly lost access to Starlink satellite internet.
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