How Starlink Keeps Ukraine’s Military Online and Ahead in Battle

Starlink’s satellite internet is vital for Ukrainian military operations. Starlink permits its forces to share real-time video feeds supporting units to guide precision drone and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and artillery strikes on Russian positions and its military assets. 

Combined UAV and artillery operations have often maximized Ukraine’s attack capabilities. Tactical UAVs account for 60–70% of the damaged and destroyed Russian systems, reported the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). They also have a high success rate in inflicting casualties on infantry, underscoring their crucial role in Ukraine’s defense efforts. 

Encrypted communication is also key on the frontlines. Starlink allows Ukrainian forces to use encrypted messaging platforms to communicate with each other to avoid interception. Requesting medical evacuations and providing the exact locations of targets would be much slower or impossible without satellite services due to a lack of service, signal jamming, or compromise. 

What is Starlink?

Starlink is the world’s first satellite constellation delivering broadband internet services worldwide, and it persistently played a role during wartime in Ukraine.

Starlink is a private company run by Tesla owner Elon Musk. It’s the world’s first and largest satellite “constellation” using a low earth orbit to deliver high-speed, low-latency  internet services across the globe, from high seas to polar regions and remote areas. 

Starlink’s constellation consists of thousands of satellites that orbit close to Earth, at about 550km, whereas most satellite internet services come from single geostationary satellites that orbit the planet at 35,786 km, according to Starlink. It is available to many countries globally and operates by transporting data–similar to a fiber optic cable–through a network of small satellites communicating with ground receivers. 

The standard Starlink kit comes with the Starlink satellite dish, a kickstand and mount, a router, a power supply, and cables that can be set up quickly enhancing its accessibility and usability.

Read more

Category

War in Ukraine

How Starlink Became Ukraine’s Lifeline in War

Feb 11, 2025 13:52

Why is Starlink important for Ukraine and its military?

Just two days into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Minister, reached out to Musk requesting Starlink stations for Ukraine.

“Elon Musk, while you try to colonize Mars—Russia try to occupy Ukraine!” Fedorov wrote on X. “While your rockets successfully land from space—Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.” Musk responded and launched Starlink services in Ukraine.

Since then, Russian forces have destroyed Ukraine’s infrastructure, cellular, and internet networks throughout its invasion, creating long and widespread power outages nationwide. Starlink has played a crucial role in enabling communication during the blackouts.

Satellite internet can connect people in areas where cellular service isn’t available, allow families across Ukraine to stay in touch, allow students to continue learning, allow infrastructure to continue operating, and allow medical teams to continue saving lives. It has also been pivotal to the military during the world’s most technological war. 

Ukraine said in 2024 that approximately 42,000 Starlink terminals were in operation across the country; by the military, hospitals, aid organizations, and businesses–more than half of them, are financed by Poland. Other sources like the UK and US Governments provide full or partial funding for the terminals.

Several military missions have highlighted how drone video feeds, usually connected by Starlinks satellite internet, have played a pivotal role in Ukraine’s defense operations. 

RUSI highlighted, citing Ukrainian officers and commanders, that UAVs alone were inadequate, but most effective when used in combination with artillery. The drone-artillery team usually relies on video feed, connected by Starlink to complete such missions. 

For example, UAVs such as first-person view (FPVs) drones have immobilized vehicles and artillery has killed Russian dismounts as they emerge.

Artillery has been effective at suppressing or displacing Russia’s electronic warfare (EW) and air defenses, suppressing infantry protecting key targets from bomber UAVs, and defending the front in poor weather conditions. 

Drones can locate Russian tanks with drones, artillery follows knocking out the tanks. FPVs can be flown and hunt their targets from a distance, keeping the crew relatively safe, and making them a persistent cause of attrition.

In March 2022, Aerorozvidka, a specialist air reconnaissance unit within the army, conducted a large-scale and successful operation against Russian forces with the help of Starlink.

We strike at night when Russians sleep.

Yaroslav Honchar

Aerorozvidka unit Commander

At the time Aerorozvidka, had 50 squads of expert drone pilots and was carrying out around 300 missions a day, “picking off Russian tanks, command trucks and vehicles carrying electronic equipment” by connecting the drone team with its artillery team, according to The Times.

They used heavy-duty octocopter drones modified to drop anti-tank grenades using thermal cameras for surveillance, and target reconnaissance. 

The R18 model was the “jewel” of their operation in 2022. With a 4km range, 40-minute flight time, and the capacity to drop 5kg bombs that destroy Russian armor. It not only dropped explosives, on tanks and electronic warfare trucks but directed artillery fire too. 

PD-1, a reconnaissance drone capable of hovering in the air for 8 hours, was another key member of Aerorozvidka’s operation.

During their hundreds of daily missions, the units would identify high-priority targets for their then-limited supply of bombs using the Delta, a Nato-standard intelligence system. 

Aerorozvidka created Delta to coordinate precise air attacks against Russian positions. Delta “pulls together information from satellites, sensors on the battlefield, drone reconnaissance, radio interceptions, and interviews with people in occupied territory,” The Times reported. It also allows for on-screen tracking of Russian military movements, showing its data on an interactive map. Coordinates of Russian targets would be given to the “kill squads” who would then take flight at night and strike against Russian targets, even tank convoys.

Due to power cuts and connection issues caused by Russian attacks, Aerorozvidka relied on the secure Starlink satellite system to work the Delta and securely complete its operations. At the time, this was seen as an “alternative method,” but it became a staple of Ukraine’s military operations.

“If we use a drone with thermal vision at night, the drone must connect through Starlink to the artillery guy and create target acquisition,” an Aerorozvidka officer told The Times.

During this operation, the use of Delta and Starlink was so successful that NATO trained officers to use it alongside Western-style battlefield command and control techniques. The system transformed how units detected and responded on the battlefield. 

Recently there have been discussions about various other satellite internet technologies that could be used to replace Starlink, such as France’s Eutelsat, Luxembourg-based SES, and the EU’s IRIS²  . Some of which, could take years to become fully operational. 

Eutelsat saw its stock price surge this month, following speculation that its OneWeb satellites could replace Starlink as they confirmed that it was in discussions with the European Union to expand internet access in Ukraine. 

Musk stated on March 9 that he would “never” disable Starlink satellite terminals in Ukraine.

“To be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals,” Musk emphasized. “We would never do such a thing or use it as a bargaining chip” he added.

However, Musk reiterated his belief that without Starlink, Ukraine’s front line “would collapse, as the Russians can jam all other communications.”