Russia’s Volna-Kupol-Garant Aims Jamming at Starlink Satellites

By John Maximus · Published 14 October 2026
Reported from named sources and checked against the publishers linked in this article. Corrections: editorial and corrections policy.

A Russian electronic warfare complex called Volna-Kupol-Garant is built to disrupt Starlink by aiming radio energy at the satellites themselves instead of at customer dishes on the ground, its chief designer said in remarks published on 13 October by Voennoe Delo, which cited an interview with the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. Dmitry Kuzyakin of Russia’s Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions (TsKBR), a Russian unmanned-systems design bureau, said the system tracks Starlink spacecraft as they cross its operating area and stops them receiving transmissions from user terminals below.

Key facts

• Volna-Kupol-Garant interferes with the satellite rather than the link between a dish and orbit, acting on the spacecraft’s ability to process incoming transmissions, according to Voennoe Delo.
• It generates interference across eight Starlink data transmission bands, each measuring 62.5 MHz, using a directional phased-array antenna system, Yahoo reported on 2 August.
• One complete complex can reportedly create a Starlink jamming zone covering as much as 20 km², Yahoo said.
• The complex is equipped with six trailer-mounted modules, each carrying two steerable satellite antennas under radio-transparent radomes, per Yahoo.
• Affected satellites reportedly need several additional minutes to recover normal communications capability after the interference stops.
• Yahoo reported that the system had not been independently verified and had not reportedly been used in the war as of early August.
• Ukrainian drones struck one such system on Russian soil on 7 August, Charter97.org reported, citing the OSINT project Dnipro Osint.

Why it matters

Kuzyakin described the technology as a serious challenge for Starlink and said SpaceX founder Elon Musk is aware that effective Russian systems capable of disrupting the network have emerged, according to Voennoe Delo.

Yahoo framed the development as unwelcome news for the United States and Ukraine, both of which it said are already weighing how future conflicts might extend into orbit. It added that reports suggest the US has explored controlling which nations can operate satellites, and that Russia is likely to defend satellite capabilities it uses for communications, intelligence gathering, navigation and unmanned military systems.

The claim lands alongside other pressure points on the network: German officials have separately warned that Russian satellites could threaten Starlink, while Russia’s own Starlink rival has been losing spacecraft in orbit.

What the designer says it does

Per Voennoe Delo, the complex monitors the movement of Starlink satellites passing over its operational area, then follows a chosen spacecraft with a directed radio signal so it cannot receive data sent by terminals inside the coverage zone.

Yahoo reported that the method relies on a narrow-beam, high-frequency signal that differs from conventional electronic warfare, and that Russian officials say the transmission overloads the receiving antennas aboard the satellite. Russian officials told Yahoo the interruption is temporary and does not physically harm the spacecraft.

“Volna does not physically destroy the spacecraft, but for the duration of the ‘illumination,’ it blocks the ability of a specific satellite to serve ground terminals,” Kuzyakin said in remarks carried by Yahoo, which identified him as general designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions. Voennoe Delo calls him chief designer.

Yahoo also reported that the modules can stay on their trailers or operate from separate ground installations, and said the device has the capacity to disrupt and even disable spacecraft operations — a stronger claim than the temporary blocking described elsewhere in the same report.

Reported losses on the battlefield

Charter97.org reported, citing Dnipro Osint via Dialog.UA, that a Volna-Kupol-Garant installation was found and destroyed near Gelendzhik in Russia. Satellite images indicated it sat on the grounds of military unit No. 2156, about 24 km from Vladimir Putin’s residence, and was struck successfully by Ukrainian drones on 7 August.

That was at least the third time the system has been destroyed since the start of the full-scale war, Charter97.org said, adding that the earlier strikes hit systems in occupied territories and that this was the first loss on Russian territory. Those reports sit awkwardly with Yahoo’s 2 August statement that the complex had not reportedly been used in the war; the sources do not reconcile the two accounts.

Dnipro Osint described the system in similar terms to its developer, telling Charter97.org that it generates directional radio jamming toward the satellite so the satellite cannot receive signals from terminals. Starlink remains central to Ukrainian communications, and an adviser in Kyiv said no one will disconnect Starlink in Ukraine.

None of the three sources reports any confirmed Starlink outage caused by the system, any statement from SpaceX, or any effect outside the areas described.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Starlink legal in Russia, and how do people there get online with it?

The service is officially prohibited in Russia, Voennoe Delo reports. Dmitry Kuzyakin said modified Starlink terminals can transmit false geographical coordinates, which allows them to bypass territorial restrictions and still obtain access to satellite communications despite the ban.

How high are the Starlink satellites the system is designed to reach?

Kuzyakin told RIA Novosti that Starlink satellites orbit about 500 km above Earth, according to Yahoo’s report. He said the phased-array system was designed to interfere with the receiving antennas carried aboard those spacecraft.

Is the jamming technology new?

Kuzyakin said it is not entirely new, according to Voennoe Delo. He said the principles of directed electronic interference against space-based systems date back to developments from the Soviet era.

Does the system have any obvious weakness?

Yahoo’s report notes that the installation’s considerable size could increase its visibility to electronic intelligence assets, because numerous exposed antennas remain active while it is operating. Yahoo adds that the complex has not been independently verified.