(KYIV) – Ukrainian forces have destroyed two Russian infantry fighting vehicles and eliminated an assault unit after a failed fog covered attack, pointing to continued weaknesses in Russian battlefield coordination and communications.
According to Ukrainian military sources, two Russian infantry fighting vehicles carrying a total of 14 troops attempted to advance under the cover of dense fog, apparently seeking to exploit reduced visibility to surprise Ukrainian positions.
The assault was detected by soldiers of Ukraine’s 225th Separate Assault Regiment, supported by neighbouring units, who engaged the attackers shortly after movement was identified. An intense firefight followed and lasted for about an hour.
Both Russian armoured vehicles were destroyed during the engagement. None of the assault force survived, Ukrainian officials said.
The incident highlights the vulnerability of armoured units operating without effective coordination against prepared defenders, particularly in difficult terrain and adverse weather conditions. Ukrainian commanders said the outcome reflected strong situational awareness and disciplined response by their troops.
Separately, Russian military bloggers have expressed alarm over new restrictions affecting the use of the Starlink satellite system, which Russian forces have relied on extensively for battlefield communications and drone navigation.
Russia is formally embargoed from importing Starlink terminals but has obtained them through grey market channels, registering devices abroad before transferring them for use in occupied areas of Ukraine. In recent weeks, Russian forces have increasingly embedded Starlink terminals into long range attack drones.
Reports indicate that Starlink has begun resetting terminals detected travelling faster than 90 kilometres per hour, equivalent to 55 miles per hour, disrupting their use on drones. Russian sources say terminals cease transmitting after around two minutes at such speeds before becoming operational again following a reboot.
The measures have particularly affected drones such as the Molia and BM35, which Russian sources claim were previously used to strike targets near Odesa and Ukrainian airfields.
Ukrainian authorities are also developing a register to whitelist authorised Starlink terminals used by their forces. Analysts say this would further restrict unauthorised Russian use and could disable Starlink access across Russian frontline units.
Russian commentators acknowledge that Moscow remains heavily dependent on Starlink due to its failure to deploy a domestic satellite communications network. The Rasvet project, overseen by Bureau 1440, has suffered repeated delays.
Plans to launch 16 low orbit broadband satellites in 2025 were postponed to 2026 due to a lack of available spacecraft. A wider rollout originally envisaged 156 satellites by 2026, rising to 318 by 2028, but the schedule is now in doubt.
Even if implemented, commercial operation of the Russian network is not expected before 2027, with an estimated 250 satellites in orbit. By contrast, Starlink currently operates more than 9,000 satellites globally.
Russian analysts say that even a smaller constellation of about 900 satellites would fall short of Starlink’s coverage and performance, raising questions over Russia’s ability to replace the system in the near term.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities have reported further Russian drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region. Officials said a civilian bus was struck during a drone attack, with subsequent impacts hitting people who had exited the vehicle.
Ukraine has described the incident as a deliberate attack on civilians and part of a broader pattern of Russian violations of international humanitarian law.
