Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
According to reports, the satellite never managed to conduct a single orbital maneuvre before reentering the atmosphere.
On February 1, 2026, Elon Musk wrote on X: “Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked.”
The post from the owner of SpaceX, which owns Starlink, came after Ukraine had contacted SpaceX in order to cut off Russian forces from using the Starlink network — and that request has proven very useful.
Since losing access to the Starlink network, Russian forces are reportedly scrambling to find alternative ways of communicating, controlling their drones, and coordinating operations along the front line.
The Kremlin is rushing to create its own alternative to the Starlink network, but that mission has now suffered a major setback.
Falling from Grace
Defense Blog reports that one of the Kremlin’s brand-new internet satellites tumbled back to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere.
The spacecraft lasted just 75 days after being sent into orbit in March 2026.
According to Defense Blog, which cited data from RussianSpaceWeb, the satellite was known as Object 4. Trackers at NORAD watched the vehicle slowly lose altitude. It never moved.
The ill-fated spacecraft was part of the new Rassvet broadband constellation. A private company called Buro 1440 is developing the project to give Russia its own space-based internet. This particular launch took place on March 23, but things clearly went wrong shortly after liftoff.
Silent Skies
Experts believe a technical failure caused the crash. The satellite likely suffered a propulsion system failure or a fatal computer glitch that left it stranded. So far, Russian officials have kept quiet about what actually happened.
In fact, the entire mission began in total secrecy. Neither the Russian space agency Roscosmos nor the Ministry of Defense announced the launch. The public only found out when Buro 1440 shared footage of the satellites floating in space.
The rest of the fleet seems to be doing much better. While none of the satellites moved during their first few weeks, several started climbing in April. By early June, six of them were moving to higher orbits, while eight others maintained their positions.
Turning the Tables on the Battlefield
On May 22, Bloomberg cited a newly declassified U.S. defense intelligence report detailing how cutting off Russian forces from the Starlink network had an immediate and severe impact on Russian operations in Ukraine.
Without stable connections, commanders struggled to coordinate reconnaissance missions and drone strikes. According to the intelligence assessment, this massive digital blackout helped Ukrainian forces push forward.
Kyiv managed to reclaim nearly 400 square kilometers of territory earlier this year, and the latest analysis of territorial gains in Ukraine from the Institute for the Study of War showed that Russia had suffered a net territorial loss of 281 km² over the past six months.
Looking at the numbers over time, the Russian advance ground to a near halt in February and March before territorial gains turned negative in April and May.
