Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The Russian forces are having massive trouble after being cut off from the global network.
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 the Russian forces from using the Starlink-network – and that request has proven very useful.
Since losing the access to the Starlink network, Russian forces are reportedly scrambling to find alternative ways of communication, controlling their drones and overall coordination along the front line.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrainian forces have even been able to launch counter attacks along the front line because of the Russian’s lacking options of communication.
But now, Russia has allegedly made a test run of its own alternative to the Starlink network.
A High-altitude trial
Russia’s Foundation for Advanced Research Projects said it carried out the first test flight of the unmanned Barrage-1 stratospheric platform, according to state news agency TASS on February 12.
The Kremlin-established research body said the platform is designed to carry 5G Non-Terrestrial Network off-ground communications equipment.
It added that Barrage-1 can transport payloads weighing up to 100 kilograms and operate at an altitude of around 20 kilometers above the Earth.
But is the coming network actually a replacement? The pro-Kremlin militarybloggers are not impressed.
Starlink alternative?
According to the ISW, Russian military bloggers linked the trial to efforts to compensate for the loss of access to SpaceX’s Starlink system by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Some commentators, however, played down the system’s potential. One Kremlin-aligned milblogger noted that a single aerostat could not substitute for a low-orbit satellite network made up of thousands of spacecraft.
The blogger suggested instead that such a platform might form part of a broader, layered communications structure rather than serve as a direct replacement.
Ukrainian response
The development has drawn attention in Kyiv. Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense on defense technology, drones and electronic warfare, addressed the issue publicly.
He urged Ukrainian forces to consider using S-300 air defense systems to target objects operating at altitudes between 20 and 30 kilometers, such as platforms similar to Barrage-1.
Sources: TASS, Institute for the Study of War (ISW), posts on X
