Ukraine blinded: Musk deflects blame on Trump, Putin sharpens attack | Gravitas

As wars continue to rage in Ukraine and West Asia, Starlink has emerged as a powerful tool not just for civilians, but also for the military. It is now at the centre of a big row. While Ukraine has cried foul due to sudden Starlink restrictions, Iran has pledged a tougher crackdown on this service operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

In the latest from the battlefield, four people were injured in the city of Odesa in an alleged Russian attack. Footage showed the moment when a jet-powered drone struck a supermarket, resulting in a big fire. Subsequently, the store was partially destroyed, and cars were damaged.

At a time when Ukraine's defence capabilities have been impacted, Russia reportedly fired over 850 Shahed drones across various cities, including Kyiv, since the early hours of Thursday. Three people were killed, and six others were injured in an alleged Russian drone attack on Ukraine's Kirovohrad region. Businesses, logistics centres, warehouses and residential buildings were hit. Three others were killed in a strike on Dnipro as well.

In another development, two vessels off Romania's coast were struck overnight by aerial drones. This included a San Marino-flagged vessel in the Black Sea, which caught fire overnight. According to Romania, seven crew members are still missing. While Moscow has not been linked to this incident until now, suspected Russian drones have hit several ships off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria since last week.

Amid a surge in attacks against Ukraine, defence experts claimed that Russia has nearly finished building a major new base for launching jet-powered drones in just six weeks. Located in the Rostov region, satellite imagery indicated that the facility was the size of around 126 football fields. This assumes significance as Ukraine is struggling to intercept Russian jet-powered drones that can travel at up to 600 kilometres per hour.

On the other hand, Ukraine's military claimed to have destroyed four Su-34M military aircraft and hit two others in an overnight strike on an airfield in Russia's Voronezh region. This large fighter-bomber, costing millions of US dollars, is reportedly used by Russia to drop glide bombs onto Ukrainian cities near the frontline.

Now, in the wake of Trump striking a deal with Putin to import tonnes of diesel to ease high prices for Americans ahead of the midterms, Zelensky stressed that he felt betrayed by the US president. Terming the restrictions on Starlink a 'big mistake', he claimed that this decision would lead to a lot of human losses and urged Musk to restore the service.

Starlink essentially helps the military by providing high-speed and jam-resistant satellite internet that connects combat units, command posts and unmanned systems in real time. Starlink-enabled connections help pilots maintain links with drones, thereby supporting operations against Russian military positions, supply lines and infrastructure.

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After SpaceX reportedly imposed a speed limit on Starlink terminals, Ukraine's 7th Air Assault Corps reported that some drones started experiencing connection losses for 10 to 20 seconds while travelling at speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour. These interruptions made them harder to control, and slowing them down increased their vulnerability to Russian attacks.

The problem was particularly severe for medium-range strike drones, which require relatively high speeds during take-off. According to Zelensky's adviser, the Starlink curbs disrupted a number of missions and also threatened Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian drones. He highlighted that Starlink remained the most effective tool for enabling interceptors to shoot down Russia's jet-powered drones.

Defence experts also flagged the impact of Starlink restrictions on Ukrainian drones.

On his part, though, Elon Musk sought to pass the buck to Trump. The SpaceX CEO said that the concerns pertained to Starshield, which he claimed was owned and controlled by the US government. He said, and I am quoting him, "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately the US president".

While Starshield is designed for government use and provides users with the ability to integrate sensors on drones, its secure communications rely on Starlink.

In Iran, however, Starlink has been under the radar for a completely different reason. Outlawed in Iran on national security grounds, this satellite internet service has emerged as an alternative for people who seek to bypass the country's internet restrictions and shutdowns.

For instance, the Masoud Pezeshkian-led government shut down the internet for a staggering 88 days following the start of the war on February 28 this year. However, Iran is viewing it as a strategic vulnerability.

A top official described Starlink as a 'tool of war' for enemies, who he claimed were using it for espionage and information gathering. While the scale of Starlink usage in Iran is tough to estimate, ex-Israeli PM Naftali Bennett had claimed to have smuggled thousands of Starlink devices into Iran from 2021 to 2022 to aid protesters.

According to reports, Iranian authorities use a combination of measures to block Starlink connections. This includes using jammers to disrupt services, along with spoofed GPS locations to slow new devices being set up. Besides this, Iran also tries to physically intercept terminals via raids.

It is important to note that an Iranian faces six months to two years in jail simply for using Starlink. Importing and distributing Starlink devices carries a jail sentence of up to ten years. In case national security or espionage charges are invoked, individuals can even face the death penalty.

Now, amid Musk complaining about Starlink's delayed launch in India, Ukraine's experience provides food for thought. It just goes to show how reliance on satellite technology controlled by a foreign power can prove to be a double-edged sword in times of conflict.