The connection via Starlink is of great importance for the counter-offensive of Ukraine.
(Photo: AP)
Berlin The Ukrainian military has encountered unexpected difficulties in retaking their territory. According to the Ukrainian military, the connection via the Starlink satellite system stopped working in some areas of the front line. Through this system, the armed forces receive information about where Russian units are located. Starlink is therefore elementary for their offensive.
Starklink belongs to the space company SpaceX, which is controlled by Elon Musk. The entrepreneur offered Ukraine the services of the satellite company right at the beginning of the Russian invasion. Russia had switched off Ukraine’s actual provider, Viasat, via a cyber attack.
Since the failure, speculation has run hot. Some military bloggers fear a deal between Musk and Russia. Musk himself remained silent about the cause. What is happening on the battlefield is confidential, he said on Twitter.
Nevertheless, he rejected allegations that his company was making money from the agreement with Ukraine. So far, it has cost $80 million to make the services available, he wrote. By the end of the year, it would total $100 million.
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Experts see a number of possible reasons. A technical malfunction or a cyber attack by the Russians against Starlink is conceivable. Actually, the satellites are very well protected. According to Moscow, the satellites are a very important goal, as a spokesman recently indicated. Without the satellites, recapturing the occupied territories will eventually become more difficult.
More: Fear of Russian nuclear attack: “After that, Putin would be the pariah of the world community”