Ukrainian soldiers retake land.Image: keystone
According to independent US experts, Ukraine has recently achieved greater territorial gains than it has seen since 2023. The reason for this is that Russia has lost access to the Starlink satellite system.
02/17/2026, 09:2102/17/2026, 09:33
According to analysis of current data, the Ukrainian army has regained around 201 square kilometers from Russian troops within a few days. An analysis by the independent US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) shows that Kiev has not achieved a comparable increase in territory in such a short period of time since a counteroffensive in June 2023.
Recent Ukrainian tactical counterattacks have reportedly liberated multiple small settlements along the Yanchur and Haichur rivers in the Oleksandrivka and Hulyaipole directions.
These Ukrainian counterattacks are likely leveraging the recent block on Russian forces’ access to… https://t.co/axIZceQvVj pic.twitter.com/DVZLtpcUv8
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) February 16, 2026
The reason for this is that Russia has lost access to multi-billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system. Since the beginning of February, Russian units have no longer been able to use the system, which makes their communication and the use of technical equipment much more difficult. This is reported by the «Kyiv Post».
Musk switches off Starlink for Kremlin
Russian military observers discovered the interruption on February 5th. Musk had previously announced “measures” to restrict Starlink use for the Kremlin.
According to information from Kiev, Russian drones had previously used Starlink to bypass electronic jamming systems and hit their targets precisely. Without the use of Starlink, Russia only recorded terrain gains last week on February 9, according to ISW. On the remaining days, Ukraine was able to advance.
The recaptures are primarily concentrated in an area around 80 kilometers east of the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine and Russia are holding new negotiations in Geneva
Starting today, high-ranking representatives of Russia and Ukraine will be negotiating in Switzerland again to end the Russian war of aggression that began four years ago. While the Ukrainian side wants to focus primarily on humanitarian issues and security guarantees in the US-mediated talks in Geneva, Russia wants to force the neighboring country to permanently cede territory. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky accused the Russians of already planning the next wave of serious attacks on Ukrainian cities.
The delegation from Kiev, led by Secretary of the Ukrainian Security Council Rustem Umyerov, arrived in Geneva on Monday. “The agenda items have been agreed, the team is ready to work,” Umjerow said via social networks. Last week he also made a partial ceasefire to protect Ukraine’s energy supply one of the goals of the next round of talks.
The Ukrainian entourage includes the head of the presidential office, Kyrylo Budanov, deputy foreign minister Serhiy Kyslytsia and the deputy head of the HUR military intelligence service, Vadym Skibizkyj.
(hkl, with material from sda/dpa)