Russian forces jam Starlink, seize territory in Kharkiv offensive
May 10, during the renewed invasion of the Kharkiv region, the Russians managed to jam the Starlink satellite internet, reports "The Washington Post," citing a conversation with the drone unit commander from Ukraine's 125th Territorial Defense Brigade. "At one point, we were completely blinded," said the Ukrainian soldier.
Ukraine – despite months of anticipating Russia's new offensive through the northeastern border – was still surprised by stationed Ukrainian soldiers who were supposed to defend against it.
Russian offensive towards Kharkiv
The Ukrainian 125th Territorial Defense Brigade – stretched along approximately 40 kilometres of the Kharkiv region's border with Russia – used reconnaissance drones for daily monitoring. They knew that Moscow was constantly amassing forces for a potential attack. "However, in the morning, when it happened on May 10, the brigade lost all video channels due to Russian electronic interference," "The Washington Post" journalists determined.
Starlink devices—the satellite internet used by the Ukrainian army for basic communication—failed and were completely shut down for the first time since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
"We were completely blinded"
"At one point, we were completely blinded," said the drone unit commander in the brigade. "That was the biggest problem, we couldn't see how they were moving, we were working only via radio or phones," said "Artist," a 53-year-old sergeant. According to him, the drone power "simply disappeared."
Within a few days, the Russians captured – for the second time – about 130 square kilometers of territory along the border, "taking advantage of a moment of particular vulnerability for the Ukrainian army."
Battle map from May 10, 2024:
Fatal US move. Delay reason for frontline disaster
The US aid package, including funding for valuable artillery and air defense munitions, has been stuck in Congress for over six months. Ukrainians on the front lines often could not respond with fire to Russian attacks.
Meanwhile, despite military personnel's months-long complaints about staffing shortages and extreme exhaustion among soldiers fighting for over two years, the government in Kyiv was slowly increasing mobilization, leaving critical staffing shortages in some areas of the front.
However, Russia's battlefield gains in recent days were not solely due to Ukraine's shortages.
Battle map from May 16, 2024,
Russians learned their lessons. better prepared
With regret, Ukrainian soldiers admitted that their enemy had become "smarter and adapted, especially thanks to technological advances," such as electronic warfare – in sharp contrast to the first year of the invasion when Russia's mistakes and overconfidence allowed Ukrainians to hold key cities and later liberate large swathes of territory in successful counteroffensives.
New Russian advances in Kharkiv and the neighbouring Donetsk region have raised questions about the viability of Ukraine's defence – not only whether Kyiv will be able to fulfill the promise of expelling all invaders but also whether Russia will soon defeat Ukrainian forces and capture more territory.
The recent attack on the Kharkiv border forced Ukraine to redirect some reserves north, potentially jeopardizing other positions in the Ukrainian defence line.
"Artist," the drone commander in the 125th Brigade, said that Ukrainians could not build the kind of fortified defensive lines that the government and military commanders are currently emphasizing. These couldn't be built due to heavy shelling. Heavy equipment couldn't be brought in because the Russians would destroy it immediately.
