Ukraine eliminates Russian unmanned boats powered by Starlink, official says
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Ukrainian forces repelled an attempted Russian attack by sea, destroying several unmanned strike boats, Defense Ministry Advisor Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov reported on June 23.
The eliminated vessels were powered by Starlink satellite internet systems, Beskrestnov said.
Russia attempted to attack Ukraine's southwestern coast the morning of June 23, launching multiple unmanned surface vessels in the Black Sea, according to Beskrestnov.
Ukrainian forces reportedly detected and destroyed all of the unmanned boats at sea.
"As I mentioned earlier, the destroyed boats were equipped with Starlink, as the enemy does not have any other long-range control systems," Beskrestnov said.
Russian troops were blocked en masse from operating Starlink terminals on the front line in February 2026, after SpaceX implemented a "white list" for the systems to operate in Ukrainian territory. Russia's unregistered terminals were disconnected overnight, immediately disrupting battlefield communications.
Starlink service is also formally banned inside Russia itself. Nonetheless, Russian troops have sought workarounds to allow them to continue accessing Starlink in combat zones — sometimes leading them into traps laid by Ukrainian forces.
Russia's illicit shadow fleet vessels still rely heavily on Starlink to communicate and coordinate, a Kyiv Independent investigation published in April 2026 revealed.
Since the start of 2025, Russia has also outfitted some of its deep-strike Shahed drones with Starlink terminals, allowing them to remain connected to their operators deeper into Ukraine than any other technology allows.
