At Ukraine’s Request, Starlink Denies Internet Access to Russian Troops

New York Times - WorldCenter-LeftEN 5 min read 100% complete by Paul Sonne and Maria VarenikovaFebruary 5, 2026 at 10:55 PM

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long article 5 min

At Ukraine's request, SpaceX has restricted Starlink internet access for Russian forces in Ukraine. Russian military bloggers reported outages hindering their operations, following Elon Musk's announcement of the deactivation. Russian troops had been smuggling Starlink devices to the front lines to direct attack drones, evading Ukrainian jamming. Ukraine's defense minister contacted SpaceX, leading to a system that blocks unauthorized use within Ukraine. Ukraine is maintaining a "white list" of approved terminals, but the change temporarily affected some legitimate Ukrainian users who are now registering their devices. The Ukrainian defense minister thanked Musk for his support, stating the move is delivering real results.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Donetsk region 50% Mykhailo Fedorov ×280% Russia ×480% Elon Musk ×3100% SpaceX ×3100% Ukraine ×6100%

Keywords

starlink 100% ukraine 90% russian troops 80% internet access 70% satellite internet 70% export restrictions 60% mykhailo fedorov 50% elon musk 50% attack drones 50% internet outages 40%