A Russian attack drone that nearly reached the Office of the President of Ukraine in late January triggered a chain of events that fundamentally changed the battlefield communications landscape. This incident became the decisive argument for blocking the occupiers' access to the Starlink system.
As reported by Hvylya, this information comes from an investigation by The Atlantic.
According to the publication, a Russian BM-35 type UAV managed to slip through air defenses and entered the airspace of Kyiv's government quarter at low altitude. Officials observed its flight directly from the windows of the Cabinet of Ministers building. "A bunch of people saw it and were running around screaming, 'What the hell was that?'" one official recounted. The drone crashed into a neighboring building without causing casualties, but its appearance in the heart of the capital served as an alarming signal.
Following the incident, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov provided Elon Musk with irrefutable evidence: Russians were using Starlink to control long-range drones, including the one that threatened Zelensky's office. The Ukrainian side proposed a blocking plan, and in late January, SpaceX began to act.
A source familiar with the process told The Atlantic that the company created a "whitelist" of Ukrainian users "programmatically in a day." The SpaceX team received a direct directive from leadership to act without restrictions: "Gloves off—use Starlink for whatever you need to do to help Ukraine." Although Musk's own motives remained unclear even to employees, the insider confirmed: "But the political decision came from Elon."
The implementation of new protocols had side effects. The Atlantic correspondent Simon Shuster witnessed issues within a drone operator unit: terminals lost connection when UAVs exceeded speeds of 80 km/h. This forced the military to land drones pending equipment re-registration.
The publication also released details of a thwarted SBU attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet in 2022. SBU General Ivan "Hunter" Lukashevych directed the operation from an underground bunker in Kyiv. Naval drones packed with explosives traveled about seven hours, but connection was lost 40 miles from Sevastopol. "We sent two more, and as soon as they crossed a certain line, they also disappeared. That’s when we realized they had been switched off," Lukashevych recalled.
"Musk decided to work for Putin a bit. He saved the Russian fleet," the SBU general stated. However, Ukrainian specialists drew conclusions. According to Lukashevych, they managed to "hack" the Starlink positioning system, and Musk can no longer selectively disable terminals.
The struggle continues in cyberspace. Russians attempt to bypass the blockade by bribing Ukrainians to register terminals. In response, Ukrainian hackers from the "256th Cyber Offensive Division" created a fake registration system. According to them, this allowed for the identification of over 2,400 enemy terminal positions and the directing of fire upon them, although The Atlantic could not independently verify these figures.
Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots acknowledged the Russian army's critical dependence on SpaceX technology: "Starlink is our Achilles' heel. Unfortunately, we will not receive a proper replacement for this system anytime soon."
The situation is forcing Western allies to seek alternatives. Commenting on plans to create a proprietary communications system, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger noted: "Do we want to be dependent on Elon Musk? No. If he shuts down his satellites, if he shuts down the connection—we have a problem. This is a strategic necessity."