Russian forces are relying on illegally obtained access to the Starlink satellite internet service to improve the effectiveness of their tactical intelligence strike complex in Ukraine as part of efforts to achieve technological parity.
Ukrainian military personnel in the Donetsk region told the Washington Post for an article published on October 12 that this is how Russian forces can correct ongoing problems with combat coordination and communications while also improving the accuracy of their strikes.
This is stated in the daily analysis of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Ukrainian military has attributed recent Russian successes on the battlefield, including the capture of Ugledar in late September 2024, in part to Starlink.
A Russian blogger claims that a Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian Su-34 fighter jet in an unspecified area on October 12. ISW could not confirm the claim and had no further details.
But if confirmed, it would be Ukraine's first downing of a Russian manned aircraft with a Western-supplied F-16 fighter jet.
There are also claims that the Su-34 may have crashed due to a technical malfunction or human error. A Telegram channel accused Kremlin-linked bloggers of lying about the crash and preventing Russian forces from countering the Ukrainian threat.
In March, it was reported that Russia's federal censor Roskomnadzor had filed a complaint against the channel for "discrediting" of a Russian military commander.
Unknown persons opened fire on the personnel of the Counter-Extremism Center of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) in Nazran, Republic of Ingushetia, on the night of October 11.
The shooters aimed at the car of the center's deputy head, Adam Hamkhoev, who was not injured. Russian bloggers say his whereabouts after the shooting are unknown. The shooters killed three people, including one of Hamkhoev's bodyguards.
This is the fifth attempt to kill Khamkhoev. His former boss at the Counter-Extremism Center Ibrahim Elzharkiev was killed in Moscow in 2019.
The Russian business edition "Kommersant" noted that Khamkhoev has been named as a victim in numerous criminal cases, including a case for a previous attempted murder of Eldzharkiev.
Earlier, Russian authorities claimed that Sufi followers of Batal-Haji Belhoroev (called Batalhadjintsi) were involved in Eldzharkiev's murder.
The head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, is reportedly supporting his fellow Batalhajin Sufis by offering them protection in Chechnya in exchange for sending volunteer units to fight in Ukraine.
In particular, Kadyrov announced a "blood feud" against three deputies of the Republic of Dagestan and the Republic of Ingushetia on October 10, after accusing them of conspiring to kill him. Russia's Emergencies Ministry said a gas tank exploded at a gas station in Grozny, Chechen Republic on October 12, reportedly due to safety violations.
ISW is unable to make any connections between these events at this time.
Indian businesses increase exports of dual-use technology to Russia. In part, this is made possible by Russia's large reserves of rupees from oil sales in India. Bloomberg reported on October 11 that US and European officials said India had become the second-largest supplier of restricted technology, such as microchips, circuits and machine tools, to Russia - after the People's Republic of China (PRC).
Monthly Indian exports of these technologies reportedly doubled to $60 million in April and May 2024 from unspecified months earlier in 2024 and increased to $95 million in July 2024 Bloomberg reported that official sources said about a fifth of the "sensitive" technology imported from Russia's defense industrial base comes through India.
FinancialTimes reported in September 2024 that leaked documents revealed that Russia had been secretly acquiring sensitive dual-use electronics from India with "significant reserves" of Indian rupees accumulated by Russian banks from increasing oil sales in India.