According to the assessment of Serhij “Flash” Beskrestnov, a drone expert, the Russian military has, for the first time, used a type of Shahed drone equipped with Starlink terminals during an attack on a Ukrainian helicopter.
Due to the installation of this new equipment, these drones can be guided more precisely and strike their targets. The expert published a video on the Telegram social network, apparently circulated on Russian channels, showing a Starlink-equipped Shahed drone attacking a Ukrainian helicopter.
After observing a BM-35 drone equipped with a Starlink terminal in mid-January, Beskrestnov stated that this is a major problem for Ukrainians. Drones guided in this way cannot be countered through electronic warfare and, under the control of an operator from Russian territory, hit their targets with full reliability.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based research organization, recently said, citing reports about Molniya-2 drones equipped with Starlink, that the effectiveness of these Russian drones on the battlefield has “increased significantly” thanks to Starlink.
The possibility of using tanks for countermeasures
The Unian news agency, a Ukrainian outlet, quoted aviation expert Valerii Romanenko as saying that the only way to counter Starlink-equipped drones is to destroy them.
According to him, a helicopter landing site, like the one seen in the video, must be protected by air defense systems, for example by using Gepard anti-aircraft tanks that Ukraine has received from Germany.
As Ukrainian officials have stated, these tanks have shown considerable effectiveness in shooting down Shahed drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles.
In his recommendations, Romanenko also raised the idea of disabling Starlink connections, though not completely or by cutting off the internet nationwide, but rather in specific areas.
Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Starlink became a key element in Kyiv’s defensive and military activities. Ukraine itself makes extensive use of Starlink communications, which belong to Elon Musk, and is heavily dependent on them. Therefore, a widespread shutdown of these connections cannot be a solution.
U.S. Lawsuit Filed to Seize $584,000 From Iranian Linked to IRGC Drone Program https://t.co/jWalnvpQmv pic.twitter.com/zJETs6nzgd
— Iran Focus (@Iran_Focus) September 13, 2025
Starlink has stated that it is not a commercial partner of Moscow. According to Romanenko, Russia gains access to Starlink terminals through third parties, namely individuals or private companies, and therefore cannot deploy them on a very large scale.
This is not the first time that concerns have been raised about the danger of equipping Russian drones with Starlink.
In September 2024, Ukraine’s air defense reported during defensive operations and the downing of dozens of drones that investigations had revealed the drones were equipped with Starlink antennas. In images of the drone wreckage, the Starlink logo could also be seen on one of the components.
