Starlink restrictions could weaken Ukraine's air defences, former NATO official warns

Starlink's satellite broadband service became available in Ukraine just days after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. It's owned by Elon Musk's company SpaceX and makes it possible for Ukraine to guide its long-range drones to their targets. Starlink is also vital for battlefield communications, with military units using its satellite internet to coordinate. Its resistance to signal jamming makes it a crucial tool for delivering supplies to the frontline. It is not the first time SpaceX is suspected of restricting Starlink access in Ukraine.
William Alberque, a senior fellow at the Pacific Forum and former arms control director at NATO, told Al Jazeera that the high-end Starshield capability is crucial to Ukraine's drone effort, especially for controlling drones moving at very high speeds toward mobile targets, including drone strikes and intercepts of Russian drones or slower cruise missiles. He said if that part of Starlink is being limited, it becomes much harder to strike moving targets, though regular communications for command and control, movement, and logistics appear okay. He added that if Ukraine can't use Starshield to intercept incoming drones and missiles or attack mobile Russian targets, that will severely restrict Ukraine's military capabilities on the battlefield. However, he noted that long-range strikes on fixed targets like oil refineries would be less affected because coordinates can be programmed in, and the target doesn't move. Alberque said the most vital time-critical targets would be lost, and as Russia strikes Ukraine's energy infrastructure to freeze the population as winter approaches, being able to intercept cruise missiles and large-scale drone strikes is critical. He said people will die without this capability, and while it may not turn the tide of the war, it will be incredibly demoralizing and allow Russia to move more effectively and kill more Ukrainians.

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