Russian electronic warfare blinds Ukrainian forces, seizes Kharkiv lands
On 10th May, during the renewed invasion of the Kharkiv region, the Russians managed to jam the Starlink satellite internet, reports "The Washington Post," citing a conversation with the drone unit commander from Ukraine's 125th Territorial Defense Brigade. "We were left at a certain point completely blind," said the Ukrainian soldier.
Despite months of anticipating Russia's new offensive through the northeastern border, stationed Ukrainian soldiers were still surprised and unprepared to defend against it.
Russian offensive towards Kharkiv
The Ukrainian 125th Territorial Defense Brigade, stretched along approximately 40 kilometres of the Kharkiv region's border with Russia, used reconnaissance drones for daily monitoring. They were aware that Moscow was constantly amassing forces for a potential attack.
Starlink devices, the satellite internet used by the Ukrainian army for basic communication, failed, and for the first time since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the internet was completely shut down.
"We were completely blinded"
"We were left at a certain point completely blind," said the drone unit commander in the brigade. "This was the biggest problem, we didn’t see how they were moving, we only worked through radio or through phones where they still worked," said "Artist," a 53-year-old sergeant. According to him, the drone power "simply disappeared."
Within a few days, the Russians captured approximately 130 square kilometres of territory along the border for the second time,
Battle map from 10th May, 2024:
Fatal US move: Delay reason for frontline disaster
The US aid package, including funding for valuable artillery and air defence munitions, has been stuck in Congress for over six months. Ukrainians on the front lines often could not respond with fire to Russian attacks.
Meanwhile, despite military personnel's months-long complaints about staffing shortages and extreme exhaustion among soldiers fighting for over two years, the government in Kyiv was slowly increasing mobilisation, leaving critical staffing shortages in some areas of the front.
However, Russia's battlefield gains in recent days were not solely due to Ukraine's shortages.
Battle map from 16th May, 2024:
Russians learned their lessons: Better prepared
With regret, Ukrainian soldiers admitted that their enemy had become more adapted to electronic warfare. This was in sharp contrast to the first year of the invasion when Russia's mistakes and overconfidence allowed Ukrainians to hold key cities and later liberate large swathes of territory in successful counteroffensives.
New Russian advances in Kharkiv and the neighbouring Donetsk region have raised questions about the viability of Ukraine's defence – not only whether Kyiv will be able to fulfil the promise of expelling all invaders but also whether Russia will soon defeat Ukrainian forces and capture more territory.
The recent attack on the Kharkiv border forced Ukraine to redirect some reserves north, potentially jeopardising other positions in the Ukrainian defence line.
"Artist," the drone commander in the 125th Brigade, said that Ukrainians could not build the kind of fortified defensive lines that the government and military commanders are currently emphasizing. These couldn't be built due to heavy shelling, and heavy equipment couldn't be brought in because the Russians would destroy it immediately.
