Russian army has recorded its slowest advance on the frontline in Ukraine in two years in February, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
Separately, Agence France-Presse reported that Russia advanced by only 123 sq kilometers during February, which marks the lowest since April 2024.
The slowdown in Russian advances came after Elon Musk’s Starlink company cut the Russian army’s access to its internet terminals. Amid’s Russia’s slow advances, Ukraine troops have managed to made considerable advances, including 61 square kilometers on February 15 and 50 square kilometers on February 21.
Ukrainian troops achieved their strongest gains on the southern axis, where they managed to drive Russian forces away from positions in the Dnipropetrovsk area. At the same time, Russian troops have continued a slow but persistent advance in the east, edging nearer to the strategic cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region. Currently, Russia controls slightly more than 19% of Ukrainian territory.
A disruption to Starlink service would have significant operational consequences for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia. Since the early months of the full-scale invasion launched in 2022, the satellite internet system operated by SpaceX has been a backbone of Ukraine’s battlefield communications. Starlink terminals have enabled frontline units to maintain secure communications, coordinate artillery strikes, operate drones, and transmit real-time reconnaissance data even in areas where traditional telecommunications infrastructure has been destroyed or jammed. If that network were to go offline, even temporarily, the immediate effect would likely be reduced situational awareness and slower decision-making across dispersed units.
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