Russian military

Profile narrative

The Russian military is responsible for conducting the nation's defense and carrying out armed operations across various theaters. It provides combat forces, logistics, intelligence, and command and control capabilities to support state security objectives. In the context of the 2026 incident, Russian forces employed Starlink satellite‑internet terminals to maintain battlefield communication links. The same terminals were also used to control certain unmanned aerial systems employed in offensive missions. These capabilities enable real‑time data exchange between ground units and airborne platforms during operations. The organisation’s operational reach includes the Ukrainian theater, where the Starlink‑dependent activities were observed.

A distinguishing attribute of the Russian military in this episode was its reliance on a commercial satellite‑internet service rather than exclusively military‑grade communications. The reliance on Starlink meant that the continuity of its drone operations depended on the availability of those terminals. When the terminals were reported non‑operational for two weeks, objective monitoring data indicated that drone flights continued unaffected, according to a senior Russian military official. Conversely, Ukrainian officials asserted that the disconnection had a significant impact on Russian activities in the field. The incident highlighted a potential vulnerability in depending on external, non‑governmental network infrastructure for critical combat functions. Structurally, the organisation’s headquarters is indicated as being located in the United States of America, according to the supplied alias information.

On 4 February 2026, a senior Russian military official acknowledged that the Starlink terminals used by its forces had been non‑operational for approximately two weeks. The official maintained that, according to objective monitoring data, drone operations had not been affected during that period. In contrast, Ukraine’s defence minister stated that the terminals had been deliberately disconnected and that the loss of connectivity had significantly hampered Russian battlefield activities. Ukrainian armed forces, which themselves rely on tens of thousands of Starlink links for communication and certain drone missions, reported recovering the same model of terminals from long‑range drones used in Russian attacks.

Incidents

1 incident linked to this organisation.