Ukrainian front-line troops say they are experiencing connection problems with the vital Starlink internet service owned by Elon Musk and used by Kyiv's fleet of attack drones, while so also reporting an increase in Russian use of of the devices, despite this being prohibited by U.S sanctions.
ln a series of interviews across the frontlines, Ukrainian soldiers have said connection speeds have dropped in the past months and have reported other connection problems.
The complaints councide with a rise in Ukrainian sightings of Russian use of the satellite internet service run by Elon Musk's Space X with even social media posts showing the Russian crowdfunders claiming to have successfully by passed sanctions on Russian use of the devices, buying them in third world countries.
The reason for the reports of a deteriorating service in Ukraine are unclear and Starlink, SpaceX and Musk have yet declined to comment.
Meanwhile troops and analysts suggested that there maybe more Starlinks in contested areas than months earlier on both sides of the battle line, which could impact connection speeds.
The Starlink internet service has been very vital and provided a significant frontline advantage to Ukraine's smaller military since the 2022 invasion permitting its forces real time drone feeds between units and communicate in areas where combat has disrupted cellphone service.
One connections operator in the Zaphorizhzhia area who asked to be named to be named Misha sited that the poor connection issues had started in the past three weeks.
" lt breaks up all the time and needs to be rebooted to start working properly.But soon the speed starts to decrease and the connection breaks up again. lt brings rather unpleasant complications for their work," he added.
Another drone operator, a commander of one of the dozens of units flying single-use attack drones at Russian targets also in the Zaphorizhzhia area said his unit's issues had begun in January.He also said that the number of Starlink satelites were now serving twice as many units so the speed had to slow down.
Multiple Ukrainian units across the frontlines reported that they had faced challenges with the speed at which Starlink operated and noted Russian use but declined to be named discussing a sensitive issue.
Ukrainian officials first sounded the alarm about Russian Starlink use in early February, suggesting they were working with SpaceX and Musk to reduce Moscow's front-line access to the units but declined to comment due to the fear of removing the unpredictable businessman on board.
Democrats on the U.S Congressional Oversight Committee have written to Starlink demanding an urgent briefing on Russian use of the devices, expressing their grave concern that Moscow is using the terminals in occupied Ukraine, in contravention of U.S sanctions.
