Russia Deploys $1.5M Starlink Jammers, Ukraine Uses Their Flaw to Strike Back

Russia has begun deploying electronic warfare systems capable of jamming the Starlink connections used to steer Ukrainian drones, Reuters reported, citing Ukrainian commanders and drone operators on July 8.

Military analysts told the outlet the effort could blunt Ukraine's campaign of medium-range strikes on Russian logistics, one of the year's most consequential battlefield shifts and a key drain on the supply route sustaining occupied Crimea.

According to Reuters, the drones, frequently guided through Starlink, operate at ranges of tens to hundreds of kilometers and have struck:

• Russian supply lines, including the land bridge to occupied Crimea;

• fuel storage depots;

• air defense systems;

• command posts.

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine's defense minister, told Reuters that a single complex can destabilize Starlink across roughly 20 square kilometers. Ukrainian forces have located about 10 of them, he indicated.

The system, identified as the Volna Kupol Garant, is produced by the Simferopol-based firm Russian Kupol, according to Beskrestnov's data cited by Reuters.

Read more

Category

World

Russia Moves to Ban Starlink Sales as Lawmakers Tighten Control Over Satellite Internet

Jun 10, 2026 19:27

Mounted on trailers fitted with antennas, it draws heavy power and disrupts the link between Starlink satellites and ground terminals.

Beskrestnov noted that Russia first tried to suppress Starlink in 2024 on the Kharkiv direction, but mass jamming did not appear until 2026. Each complex costs roughly $1.5 million, according to his assessment reported by Reuters.

The impact will hinge on how fast Russia can spread the systems along the front and how quickly Ukraine can find and hit them, one expert noted, speaking anonymously. The jammers remain bulky, emit powerful signals, and can be pinpointed by electronic reconnaissance.

The systems have already drawn Ukrainian fire. A commander of the 422nd Unmanned Systems Regiment, using the callsign "Conductor," told Reuters that his unit helped destroy two of them, one of which was carried out alongside the SBU. After a strike on one installation, Ukrainian drones running on Starlink "flew without problems," he added.

Moscow is beginning to see results against Ukraine's medium-range strikes, according to Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute. "If they ramp up EW  production, that could complicate medium-range strike operations," he stated. OSINT analyst Kirill Mikhailov shared that assessment.

As the commander of Ukraine’s 422nd Unmanned Systems Regiment noted, Ukrainian drone units have already targeted these jammers.

His unit helped destroy two such systems, including one operation with the SBU’s Alpha special operations center on June 15. Just over a week later, on June 23, another Volna Kupol Garant complex was knocked out in a drone strike near temporarily occupied Kerch, in Crimea.

Support our frontline reporters

We report from the front lines to show the reality of war. Your support helps us stay there and tell the stories that matter.

DONATE NOW