Russia has made progress in its quest to sabotage Ukrainian forces’ internet access by targeting the Starlink satellite operations that billionaire Elon Musk has provided to Kiev since the early days of the war, according to a classified US intelligence report obtained by the Washington Post.
DEVELOPED TO PROTECT THEIR OWN SATES?
According to the top-secret assessment, which has not been disclosed before, Moscow has tried Tobol electronic warfare systems for months in an attempt to interrupt Starlink’s broadcasts in Ukraine.
The document, which is among a series of sensitive material leaked online via messaging platform Discord, is from March and does not indicate whether any of Russia’s tests were successful. But this intelligence finding is still seen as striking, as it seems to confirm something that observers previously put forward as mere conjecture.
It is said to be a program ostensibly designed to protect the Kremlin’s satellites and could instead be used to attack those used by its enemies.
SPACEX REFUSED TO COMMENT
SpaceX firm, which owns Starlink, declined to comment. Last spring, Musk briefly touched upon Kremlin’s attempts to target the technology, and in May, Starlink tweeted about such “mixing and hacking” He wrote that the Russians seemed to be intensifying their efforts, although he had proven his resilience to his attempts.
The Pentagon did not respond to questions about the leaked assessment. Defense Department spokesman Major Charlie Dietz “These systems form an important layer in Ukraine’s communication network” said. He added that the ministry’s focus is “to give the Ukrainians the satellite capabilities they need”.
Kostiantyn Zhura, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, said that the authorities in Kiev are aware of Russia’s efforts and that “that they are taking measures to neutralize them” told. The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to this request for comment.
STARLIK SATELLITES ARE VITAL
Starlink has proven vital to the Ukrainian military, which relies on small portable terminals to communicate and transmit intelligence on the battlefield. Russian forces have been successful in preventing Ukrainians from using other communication equipment such as radios and cell phones, but disrupting satellite signals is said to be more difficult.
THREATENED TO SHUT DOWN THE SERVICE
Last fall, Musk faced backlash from Ukrainian leaders after he made a statement that critics thought was overwhelmingly in Russia’s favor to end the war. Weeks later it was criticized again when the business boss threatened to withhold funding for the emergency Starlink service. After that, he had to take a step back.
It is unclear whether the Starlink outages reported in Ukraine were the result of Russia’s Tobol experiments or other jamming capabilities used by Russian forces, such as the truck-mounted Tirada-2 system. Ukrainian troops reported interruptions in October as they advanced towards Russian positions during successful counterattacks in the south and east. According to a report in the Financial Times, Ukrainian officials at that time SpaceX has stated that it restricts internet access in these regions to prevent Russians from using the service. had suggested.
AT LEAST 7 TOBOL COMPLEXES DETECTED
Analysts have identified at least seven Tobol complexes in Russia, all located next to facilities used to monitor satellites, according to a report published this month by the Secure World Foundation, a privately-owned group focused on space safety and sustainability. Analysts said some facilities are hubs for mobile jammers.
The leaked document describes “Russia’s ongoing military operational trial with Tobol-1 to target the Starlink satellite communications system over Ukraine” and specifies three locations within Russia where the tests were conducted. The “presumed center” where the trials were held, near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, witnessed the most intense fighting of the war this year.
LOOKS TO COVER ALL OF UKRAINE
Although Russia’s positioning of the Tobol complexes across the country suggests they are used for defensive purposes, one of the three facilities described in the US intelligence assessment is located outside Moscow, one near Crimea and the other in Russia’s western Kaliningrad exclave.
It is considered suitable for an offensive operation as it is the closest facilities to Ukraine. The program planning director of the Secure World Foundation, Brian Weeden, said that the coverage areas of the system developed by Russia seem to cover the whole of Ukraine.
While the experts who evaluated the report expressed the way this system works, “The public documents we have mention that it is a defense system, meaning that Tobol will be used to detect anyone else trying to jam or interfere with Russian satellites. It will analyze these interference signals and then broadcast a counter signal that will try to eliminate the interference.” says.
THEY CAN INTERVENE WITH OTHERS’ SATELLITE
Researchers “If you’re able to do that, you could probably use the same abilities to aggressively intercept someone else’s satellite.” he added.
There are only weak public clues and explanations about the Tobol program, referred to as 14Ts227 in Russian documents, and its capabilities have remained a mystery for years. The researchers say the program appears to have started about a decade ago.
STARLINK SATELLITE STARTED TO FALL!
The SpaceX company, which created a satellite network for the internet all over the world, came to the fore with a scandalous news the other day. The Starlink satellite, designated 30062, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere from the California coast on Monday, says Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracks SpaceX’s internet satellites. The satellite most likely burned up during its re-entry, he said.
The reports that emerged for Russia’s weapon developed for satellites brought to mind the thought of whether Russia would have a share in the fall of Starlink satellites.
