Ukraine military uses Starlink satellite internet for battlefield operations

Ukraine's military has used SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet to fight Russia since February 2022. Russia destroyed much of Ukraine's internet infrastructure during its invasion, so the army needed another way to communicate. SpaceX turned on the service in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, after Ukrainian officials asked for help. Soldiers use Starlink to control drones, share reconnaissance images, and direct artillery strikes. It works even when Russian electronic warfare systems block normal radio signals. By May 2022, over 150,000 Ukrainians were using it every day for civilian and military purposes. SpaceX later created Starshield, a military version of the service, which Ukraine also adopted. However, Starshield devices stop working properly above 100 miles per hour, and Ukrainian officials said this caused problems for their operations.