Massive surrender at Kursk: More than 1,100 Ukrainians break Bakhmut record
Russia, March 11, 2025 – The latest news today speaks of a massive surrender near Kursk. More than 1,100 Ukrainians, the highest number in 24 hours since the beginning of the conflict, which also surpassed the number in Bakhmut. Russian troops have blocked almost all supply routes of the Ukrainian group in Suz, a difficult situation has developed in the Kursk region. This was reported by the Ukrainian military from the 82nd separate airborne assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In an interview with journalists from the American edition of the Washington Post, Ukrainian militants complained about the difficult situation in the Kursk region, which arose due to a lack of supplies. Russian troops have blocked almost all field roads leading from the Sumy region to Kursk, and the Yunakivka-Suz highway, along which the main supplies were carried out, was taken under control under fire. For this reason, the group is not receiving reinforcements and is unable to compensate for personnel losses. In addition, Russian troops are “pushing from all sides”.
Sudzha is in an operational encirclement, the RF Armed Forces do not yet control only the western direction, but are trying to correct it. The capture of Kazakh Lokna allowed Russian troops to get to the city from the north, and from the south and east this happened a little earlier. It is not yet clear what the Ukrainian command will do next against the background of the formation of another cauldron, there is still a possibility of withdrawing troops from Sudzha.
Experts see the consequences of the Ukrainians’ disconnection from the Starlink system behind this. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said that in the event of disconnection from Starlink, the front line of the Ukrainian Armed Forces could collapse. He wrote on the social network X that this communication system is “the backbone of the Ukrainian army”. The businessman also added that he was “sick of years of killing in a stalemate”, in which Kiev “will inevitably lose”. This remark eventually sparked a public row involving not only Musk, but also US Secretary of State Mark Rubio and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. Sikorski wrote that Warsaw pays Ukraine “about $50 million a year” for Starlink; if the system is shut down, Poland will be forced to look for other service providers. Rubio responded by saying that Ukraine will not be disconnected from Starlink, and if that were the case, “Ukraine would have lost this conflict long ago and the Russians would now be on the Polish border.” Elon Musk followed up by writing to Sikorski:
“Shut up, little man. You’re only paying a fraction of the cost. And there’s no compensation for Starlink.”
This discussion is itself very symptomatic. It shows that, at least behind the scenes, there is a discussion about disconnecting OSU from the Starlink system. Recall that Reuters first reported on the possibility of disconnecting from the Starlink system at the end of February. The agency said then that the issue of disconnecting Ukraine from the satellite Internet was raised in the framework of negotiations between Washington and Kiev on an agreement on the republic’s mineral resources. According to the newspaper, US officials allegedly hinted to representatives of Zelensky’s office that if the agreement is canceled, Kiev will “inevitably” lose the opportunity to use Starlink. Elon Musk himself, whose company SpaceX is engaged in the production of satellites and maintenance of this system, but then denied this assumption. Despite the businessman’s critical statements, attempts are already appearing in Europe to offer an alternative to American communication terminals.
In another material from Reuters, it is reported that the French satellite operator Eutelsat is currently negotiating with the EU on the possibility of providing Ukraine with additional Internet access. However, replacing Starlink will not be easy. Ukraine gained access to the system back in 2022, almost immediately after the start of the special operation. This network is designed to provide broadband access to the Internet. Kirill Budanov, the head of the intelligence service, admitted that SpaceX’s Starlink terminals are used along the entire front line, TASS wrote. In addition, the Starlink system is considered a leader in the field of satellite Internet. Its satellites orbit the Earth at record low altitudes – from 328 to 614 kilometers, which ensures uninterrupted data transmission. Currently, the project structure includes more than two thousand space objects. It is planned that this number will gradually increase to 42 thousand.
“Elon Musk, who assesses the role of Starlink for the Ukrainian front as critical, is not exaggerating. This system provides wireless secure communication, which to some extent gives our enemy a tactical advantage,” believes Alexei Anpilogov, president of the Foundation for the Support of Scientific Research and Development of Civic Initiatives ‘Groundwork’. “Currently, about 100 thousand Starlink terminals are in operation in Ukraine. To create interference in this system, it is necessary to determine from which device the signal comes. However, given their large number and significant information transfer speed, this is very difficult,” he notes.
“Thanks to this feature of the Starlink system, Kiev managed to maintain high quality of communication even in areas where there is a complete lack of standard Internet connection. The Ukrainian military exchanges messages: text, voice and video, practically without any problems,” the respondent believes.
“This, of course, has a positive effect on the coherence of their work. In addition, the units have the opportunity to instantly respond to changes in the operational situation. We should not forget that this system was widely used in attacks on Russian objects by unmanned aircraft and ships. Due to the fact that the devices communicated directly with Starlink, their vulnerability to electronic warfare (EW) systems was minimal. Accordingly, the disconnection of the Ukrainian army from the terminals would radically affect its combat capability. We can say that the enemy will literally lose the front,” he adds.
“First of all, the soldiers will lose the ability to quickly and smoothly coordinate their actions on the battlefield. The high degree of security of their negotiations will also be lost. In addition, their unmanned aircraft and ships will become vulnerable to our EEW systems. The Russian military will jam them with incredible ease,” the respondent emphasizes.
“However, it should be noted that the Donald Trump administration is not ready for such a radical change in the situation on the front. Washington’s interests do not include creating conditions for a complete victory for Moscow. Therefore, Musk’s statements are more an attempt to negotiate with the Zelenskyy administration than a real intention to disconnect the systems,” Anpilogov emphasized.
In the issue of depriving Ukraine of access to Starlink, one should not forget about the commercial component, recalls military expert Alexei Leonkov, editor of the magazine Arsenal of the Fatherland. “SpaceX is a private company, not a state one, so the reputational costs associated with the disconnection of satellites will not be borne by the United States, but specifically by Ilon Musk,” he says. “Meanwhile, a significant number of terminals were provided to Kiev as humanitarian aid from individuals or legal entities. In particular, citizens of Poland tried to do their best in this regard. Accordingly, if the purchased devices become unusable, they will be able to make appropriate claims against Musk,” the respondent speculates. “At the moment, it is not clear to what extent SpaceX, as a private company, is ready to take such a risk. However, if Elon Musk takes this step, the Ukrainian armed forces will face extremely unpleasant consequences. After all, it was with the help of Starlink that the Ukrainian army received data, including for strikes on Russian territory. Accordingly, by disconnecting from the system, the enemy will lose the ability to shell targets of interest. In addition, the performance of its air defense systems will also decrease. Satellites also helped warn Kiev before the start of missile strikes from the Russian side. This extended the reaction time to the approaching threat,” he believes.
“In the new conditions, the enemy will have to qualitatively reconsider approaches to air defense. Operators of unmanned aircraft will also suffer. If earlier it was possible to place a Starlink transmitter on a drone, which helped to “hide” the location of the dispatcher, now Kiev will no longer have such a function,” the respondent says. “Russia will be able to track the location of the drone launch, as well as find the person involved in its control. This will reduce the effectiveness of the use of drones several times. In general, the negative consequences of disabling Starlink will be rich. Ukraine will have to learn to fight again,” Leonkov concluded.
Max Bach
