In Ukraine, Starlink Data Traffic Drops 75% After Russian Army Disconnection

Starlink satellite traffic in Ukraine fell by about 75% after SpaceX shut down its terminals in the occupied territories of the country.

This was noted by the head of the IT company’s analytics department, Doug Madory. His words are also confirmed by Cloudflare statistics.

According to Cloudflare, Starlink traffic dropped sharply on February 4.

On the same day, Russian military bloggers began writing about this en masse. According to them, the interruptions affected both sides.

The Ukrainian military reported only minor interruptions for “some users.”

Subsequently, Starlink traffic averaged about 25-30% of previous levels. It has not returned to its previous level. This may indicate that Russia has been unable to find a way to circumvent SpaceX’s blocking.

Russian units using Starlink began to suffer increasing casualties among their communications personnel.

In February, they began laying additional communication lines, which were then targeted by Ukrainian drones.

During the full-scale war, Russian troops actively used Starlink for communications.

Terminals were also installed on drones, which could fly unhindered into Ukrainian rear areas.

In August, SpaceX restricted the use of Starlink satellite internet on transport in Ukraine.

After that, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution on the introduction of a whitelist for Starlink satellite communication terminals. To confirm that a device is for civilian use, a single visit to the nearest Administrative Services Center (ASC) is sufficient.

Military personnel do not need to visit ASCs — a special secure channel through the DELTA system is already in place for them.

Soldiers also do not need to register private terminals with military units or transfer their account data — it is sufficient to add the device to the “white list.”

Russia is looking for workarounds

Despite the restrictions, the Russian military has found another way to obtain terminals.

They hire people in Ukraine who agree to register Starlink for Russians in exchange for money.

If such an agent is exposed, all terminals that they have previously registered are blocked and blacklisted by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

Russia is also blackmailing the families of Ukrainian prisoners of war, forcing them to register Starlink terminals.

If such a registered terminal is used to correct fire or control Russian strike drones, this could be grounds for criminal prosecution in Ukraine.

At the same time, the Russians are trying to launch their own analogue of Starlink.