Starlink outage leaves Russian military without satellite internet access within Ukraine’s borders

Starlink satellite internet has stopped working for both the Russian and Ukrainian military along the frontline, Russian pro-war blogger Vladimir Romanov reported on Wednesday.

Romanov, who writes about the war on his Telegram channel Romanov Light wrote: “On 4 February 2026, Starlink was cut off along the entire frontline. For the enemy too.” His fellow pro-war blogger, who writes on the Telegram channel Belorussky silovik said that almost 90% of Russian units in Ukraine had been left with no internet.

The channel Alex Parker Returns said the disconnection was due to the Ukrainian authorities introducing a “white list” of devices, whereby all devices receiving a satellite signal in Ukraine would require registration. “This will hit the advanced assault groups the hardest, such as those in Kupyansk. They’ve lost the only opportunity they had to communicate with the mainland,” the Russian pro-war channel said.

However, an Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) serviceman with the call sign Alex rubbished Russian claims that both sides had been affected, saying on his Telegram channel that Starlink terminals were mostly still working on the Ukrainian side of the frontline, “though some users were experiencing interruptions”, while the terminals not working were those being verified for inclusion on the Ukrainian “white list”, AFU sources told Ukrainian online newspaper Mirror of the Week.

Starlink satellite internet does not work in Russia, but provides coverage within the internationally recognised borders of Ukraine, including areas occupied by Russia, meaning Russian servicemen can use terminals that have been purchased illicitly.

In late January, Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov contacted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to ask him to take steps to combat the practice. On Monday, Fedorov announced that all unverified devices not included on a newly introduced Ukrainian government “white list” would be disabled by SpaceX.