Ukraine Reports New Monthly High in Russian Casualties as Starlink Access Is Restored
Ukraine's General Staff estimated that Russian forces suffered 49,040 casualties in October 2026, as of October 28, according to Al Jazeera. The figure is a new monthly record for reported Russian casualties and is above the 46,230 reported for September 2026.
The General Staff put the October average at around 1,750 Russian personnel per day, according to Pravda. For comparison, Ukraine reported 26,090 Russian personnel losses in February 2026. In January, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set a goal of inflicting at least 50,000 Russian casualties per month by the end of 2026.
The month's largest single dispute over technology involved Starlink, the satellite internet system used by Ukrainian forces. Elon Musk claimed Ukraine had violated Starlink's service agreement. On October 24, he said he had "closed a loophole" that had allowed Ukraine to use Starlink offensively, according to Al Jazeera.
On the same day, Ukraine announced that restrictions on Starlink and Starshield had been lifted, restoring connectivity to fast-moving military systems, as CNBC reported. Ukraine said its Starlink services were back to normal, with stable communication at speeds above 400 km/h. Ukrainian officials had said military-grade Starlink receptors stopped working when mounted on fast-moving objects. Ukraine also said the speed restrictions had damaged its ability to intercept Russian jet-powered Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones. On October 14, it reported that it was losing control of its own drones above about 150 km/h, which hindered defence against Russian jet-powered drones travelling above 500 km/h.
Reuters reported on October 15, citing sources, that the order to limit Starshield service for Ukraine came from inside the White House. U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer said the turning off of Ukraine's Starlink access means fewer Russian attacks against civilian targets will be intercepted. On October 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Musk's genius in remarks reported by Reuters, which also reported that Russia was working to catch up with Starlink.
European and British support also featured in recent days. The Netherlands said on October 28 it would provide 500 million euros in immediate additional military aid and 1.2 billion euros in additional financing. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain had increased its commitments to Ukraine by 10 billion pounds over three years, of which 3 billion pounds would go to weapons. Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara asked European allies for funding to double drone production next year, to about 16 million units.
Zelenskyy discussed satellite technology collaboration with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten on October 28. Earlier, on October 22, Ukraine and Finland announced they were jointly developing an independent sovereign military satellite system with the companies ICEYE and Nokia, with satellite launches set to begin in 2028.
