Russia deploys Volna Kupol Garant to jam Starlink satellites
Russia has introduced a new radio‑electronic warfare system called Volna Kupol Garant designed to disrupt the Starlink satellite network used by Ukrainian forces. The system fires a narrowly directed high‑frequency radio beam that overloads the satellites' receiving antennas, temporarily preventing them from receiving user signals. It creates interference in eight data bands between 14 GHz and 14.5 GHz, each 62.5 MHz wide, covering roughly 20 km² of sky.
The first public use of Volna Kupol Garant was reported on 3 March 2025 by Sergei Aksjonov, head of the occupation administration of Crimea. The system is produced by a company of the same name registered in Simferopol and costs about 150 million rubles per complete set. SpaceX’s monitoring capabilities allow it to detect the jammer’s emissions quickly, exposing the device to radio‑electronic reconnaissance. The jammer has also been fitted to multi‑role Mi‑8AMTSh helicopters, indicating a mobile deployment capability. While the system does not physically damage the satellites, it can temporarily blind them, reducing the effectiveness of Starlink for Ukrainian command, control and drone operations.
Entities: Dmitry Kuzyakin · Mi-8AMTSh helicopter · Russia · Sergei Aksjonov · SpaceX · Starlink · Volna Kupol Garant
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 2 SOURCES] The system emits a narrow high‑frequency radio beam that overloads satellite receiving antennas, temporarily preventing satellites from receiving signals. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123, 14d8973f-24b4-4839-a15b-cb689cd5401b)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The system was first publicly deployed on 3 March 2025 by Sergei Aksjonov, head of the occupation administration of Crimea. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The system is manufactured by a company of the same name registered in Simferopol and costs about 150 million rubles per set. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123)
- [● 2 SOURCES] The jammer does not physically damage satellites but temporarily blinds them. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123, 14d8973f-24b4-4839-a15b-cb689cd5401b)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] SpaceX can quickly detect the jammer’s signals, enabling rapid identification of its use. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Volna Kupol Garant creates interference in eight data bands from 14 GHz to 14.5 GHz, each 62.5 MHz wide, covering about 20 km². (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Russia has developed a radio‑electronic warfare system called Volna Kupol Garant intended to disrupt Starlink satellite communications. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123, 14d8973f-24b4-4839-a15b-cb689cd5401b)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Volna Kupol Garant has been installed on multi‑role Mi‑8AMTSh helicopters. (3e926eef-ff10-44f8-a05e-c5af42d70123)