Starlink terminals, which provide high-speed communications, were vital in giving the Ukrainian military an advantage over invading Russian forces.
Ukrainian intelligence said it had confirmed that Russian forces were using the Starlink satellite internet service on the battlefield in the occupied territories in the east of the country.
Ukrainian military intelligence, in publishing what it said was evidence on Sunday, said it had confirmed previous reports of “systematic” use by Russian forces of stations on Elon Musk’s satellite communications system.
Starlink systems were vital to Ukraine's battlefield communications during the nearly two-year Russian invasion, as Kiev faced a larger, better-equipped army. Personal control of Starlink by the American billionaire, who has regularly repeated the Kremlin's talking points on the conflict, remains a source of concern for Kiev and its allies.
The stations were accelerated to help Ukraine after February 2022 in Russia Invade It was vital to Kiev's battlefield communications.
Following the reports in Ukraine, Space
However, the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate posted an audio clip on the Telegram app that it said showed Russian forces discussing setting up stations in eastern Ukraine.
“Cases of Russian occupiers using these devices have been recorded. They are beginning to take on a systemic nature,” GUR quoted spokesman Andrei Yusov as saying.
The stations are used by units such as Russia's 83rd Air Assault Brigade, which is fighting near the besieged cities of Klyshchevka and Andreyevka in the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region, the agency said in a statement.
Reports out of Ukraine last week claimed that Russia was sourcing Starlink equipment from places like Dubai.
Components of Western technology are regularly found in Russia's arsenal, as Moscow has become more adept at evading sanctions, often importing goods via third countries.
Mass barrage
Kiev reported on Sunday that Russian forces launched 45 drones into Ukraine overnight.
Ukrainian Southern Defense Forces officials wrote in a telegram that the attack, which lasted five and a half hours, targeted agricultural facilities and coastal infrastructure. They added that a strike in the Mykolaiv region injured one person, causing a fire and damage to nearby residential buildings.
Another person was injured in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region when a fire broke out due to falling debris from a destroyed drone, said Serhiy Lysak, head of the region's military administration.
The strikes come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues his change of military commanders in an attempt to maintain momentum against attacking Russian forces.
Kiev announced that former Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Pavlyuk will become the new commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. This position was previously held by Oleksandr Sirsky, who was appointed on Thursday to succeed outgoing Ukrainian military commander Valery Zalozhny.
New presidential decrees also appointed Yuri Sudol, former head of the Ukrainian Marine Corps, as the new commander of the Ukrainian Joint Forces. Ihor Skibyuk as commander of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces; and Ihor Plahota as Commander of the Ukrainian Regional Defense Forces.
New Supreme Commander Sirsky has indicated that his immediate goals include improving front-line troop rotation and harnessing the power of new technology at a time when Kiev's forces are largely on the defensive.
“Internet practitioner. Social media maven. Certified zombieaholic. Lifelong communicator.”