ATESH: Russian troops turn on each other as Starlink fails

Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar partisan group ATESH reported that Russian frontline units have faced severe operational disruptions due to a loss of Starlink connectivity, with some incidents resulting in so-called “friendly fire.”

Sources from the 122nd Motor Rifle Regiment near Kupiansk and the 1152nd Regiment in the Zaporizhzhia region described a near-total breakdown in command and control.

Russian communications personnel reportedly struggled to establish backup channels, while electronic warfare systems allegedly disrupted even their own radios.

ATESH said the collapse of reliable communications has caused chaos on the battlefield, leading not only to losses from Ukrainian forces but also from units accidentally targeting each other.

On the Zaporizhzhia front, a complete communications failure reportedly led one assault group of 12 soldiers to be entirely destroyed by their own forces.

The partisan group warned that Russia’s reliance on civilian technologies, such as Starlink, has become a critical vulnerability. “As soon as connectivity fails, command collapses, and troops start to destroy themselves,” ATESH said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev