Russia is trying to block the access of Ukrainian troops to Starlink satellite internet. For this, the aggressor uses a secret weapon.
This was reported by The Washington Post.
According to the newspaper, referring to a secret report of the American intelligence, Russia's attempts to prevent the access of the Ukrainian military to the Internet, targeting Starlink, which billionaire Elon Musk has provided to Ukraine since the first days of full-scale war, "appear to be more advanced than previously thought."
The fact is that Moscow continues to experiment with Tobol electronic warfare systems. This program, "allegedly designed to protect the Kremlin's satellites, could be used to attack satellites used by its adversaries."
At the same time, the document does not demonstrate whether the experiments of the Russians were successful. At the same time, the intelligence findings are impressive, the publication emphasizes. After all, they seem to confirm the suspicions that observers had earlier.
What Elon Musk says
At the same time, SpaceX, which owns Starlink, refused to comment on the matter. Although last spring, Elon Musk briefly commented on the Kremlin's attempts to attack this technology. At the time, he noted that Starlink had demonstrated its resilience to such "jamming and hacking" attempts, but the Russians appeared to be stepping up their efforts.
The reaction of the Pentagon
As the newspaper writes, the Pentagon did not respond to questions about the assessment of the leak.
"These systems are an important layer in Ukraine's communications network," said US Department of Defense spokesman Major Charlie Dietz, adding that his department "remains focused on providing Ukrainians with the satellite communications they need."
What they say in Ukraine
The spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kostyantyn Zhura, also said that Kyiv is aware of this incident and is going to take measures to neutralize it.
The Russians refuse
The Washington Post tried to get a comment from the Russian side as well. However, the Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to the journalists' request.
"It remains unclear whether the Starlink disruptions reported in Ukraine were the result of Russian experiments with the Tobol or other jamming devices, such as the Tirado-2," the publication notes.
In general, according to analysts, the Kremlin has seven such complexes capable of tracking the satellite. Three of them can be located in the capital, Crimea, as well as Kaliningrad, that is, relatively close to the combat zone, which allows attacking Ukrainian means of communication.
In conclusion, the publication adds that Starlink has proved vital for the Ukrainian army, which relies on small portable terminals for battlefield communication and intelligence transmission. Russian forces have been successful in disabling Ukrainians from using other communications equipment, including radios and cellphones, but satellite signals are harder to disrupt.
We will remind, earlier the founder of SpaceX Elon Musk said that Russia can "kill" the only communication system Starlink, which works on the Ukrainian front.
