Posted on 10/07/2022 10:30:14 AM PDT by Zhang Fei
Ukrainian troops have reported outages of their Starlink communication devices on the frontline, hindering efforts to liberate territory from Russian forces, according to Ukrainian officials and soldiers.
Thousands of Starlink terminals, made by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, were purchased by the US government and crowdfunded by donors to help Ukrainian troops operate drones, receive vital intelligence updates and communicate with each other in areas where there are no other secure networks. The systems which connect a small antenna to a 35-centimetre-high terminal also provide internet for Ukrainian civilians.
Some of the outages led to a “catastrophic” loss of communication in recent weeks, said one senior Ukrainian government official with direct knowledge of the issue. Many were reported as soldiers breached the frontline into Russian-controlled territory and some during pitched battles, the official said, speaking under the condition of anonymity.
They were acute in the south around the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, but also occurred along the front line in eastern Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk, the official said.
All four regions are the focus of an intense Ukrainian counteroffensive and were claimed last month by President Vladimir Putin as part of Russia after referendums staged by Kremlin proxies.
Another Kyiv official said the connection failures were widespread and prompted panicked calls from soldiers to helplines. Both Ukrainian officials said the problems occurred when soldiers liberated territory from Russia and moved past the frontline.
The disruptions underline the outsized role of Musk’s communications systems in the battlefield as Ukraine’s counteroffensives in the east and south of the country push Russians into retreat. The US-based entrepreneur angered Kyiv last weekend, when he outlined a ceasefire plan that would result in ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia.
Roman Sinicyn, a co-ordinator at the Serhiy Prytula Charity, a foundation that donates Starlink systems to the
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
Ukraine ping
Elon Musk may be doing his bit to bring the kind of peace to Ukraine that he had in mind when he appeared to give his seal of approval to Russia’s annexation of the territory it has overrun, to date. His vision of peace would freeze Russia’s territorial gains, a la 2014, while giving Russia time to prepare for its next acquisitions.
That, or Russia has privately threatened to assassinate him
Elon says, “CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?”
Ukraine ping
This news provides context to Zelensky’s outrage at Elon Musk’s commentary. The Ukrainian high command presumably believes that Musk has been sabotaging their recovery of Ukrainian territory from the Russians for weeks, by throttling Starlink use over that territory. Musk’s overtly pro-Russian remarks, weeks after that suspected sabotage began, may have caused their frustrations to boil over.
His views are in the best interests of every country in the world except Ukraine’s.
Nobody really cares about Ukraine.
Karma is real.
Or Elon thinks too many Ukrainian victories too quickly will lead to nuclear war, so he is dialing down Ukraine’s advances. Amazing what a tech lord can do from his computer.
This is bad for them as I heard the Russians were getting frustrated because the Ukrainian forces are using NATO based troop marking and displaying, which allows the Ukrainians to paint all their materiel with a Z - confusing the Russian ground troops immensely.
I think the Russians are jamming Starlink for this purpose.
Tell Elon to **** off one more time, kthx.
You’re twisting Musk’s words. He wants the people living in those regions to decide.
My take, too.
No surprise; Starlink was never intended for military ops, it is designed to be placed in a static position so it can establish a satellite connection. Tactical ops centers frequently jump to new locations, moving the Starlink terminal with them. This breaks the link between the terminal and the satellite, no link means no data flow. The terminal has to reacquire the connection before data can again flow. Limited access is better than no access.
Technical truth!
However, I hope you understand since this most likely reason does not benefit either side’s propaganda, it cannot be true in either side’s minds.
Tell it to the soldiers in the field:
“Starlink “crucial as a secure form of communication on the battlefield, a soldier says ... Ignore [Musk’s] tweets, he argues: “Starlink is our oxygen ... If we tell Musk [to] piss off and take his Starlinks with him, our army would collapse into chaos.”
https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1578420673197678592
If he responded in kind, its petty, but it is his system.
Imagine a world without access to xHamster and OnlyFans. One can easily see how that could ignite WWIII (sarcasm).
Regrading Starlink...not a good idea to bite the hand that feeds you. Or provides your feed.
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