ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine: Russian forces are trying to stop Ukrainian "mid-strike" drone attacks by hiding their cargo and using strong jamming systems to block Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet, Ukrainian drone commanders and pilots told Reuters.

Ukraine has developed "mid-strike" drones that can hit targets dozens of kilometers behind the front lines in a precise and low-cost way. These drones are often operated using Starlink, and this has changed the way the war in Ukraine is being fought.

This year, Ukraine has carried out a focused campaign using these drones. It has attacked supply routes, fuel storage sites, air defense systems, and command centers. These attacks have disrupted Russian logistics and caused fuel shortages in Russian-occupied Crimea.

However, Russia is now working on different ways to counter these mid-range strikes. Four drone commanders and pilots told Reuters this during a visit to Ukraine's 422nd Unmanned Systems Regiment in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

According to them, Russia is protecting fuel and other military supplies by hiding shipments in civilian vehicles and by using advanced electronic jamming devices to block the signals used to control the drones.

They said Russia has placed jamming systems near towns and military sites. Some of these systems can interfere with Starlink, which is operated by Musk's company SpaceX.

Most of Ukraine's mid-strike missions depend on Starlink, which allows pilots to control drones from a distance and was earlier believed to be mostly resistant to jamming.

Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to Ukraine's defense ministry, said Russia is using a jamming system called Volna Kupol Garant. This system sends out a signal strong enough to disrupt Starlink connections over an area of about 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles). He said around 10 such systems have been found so far.

However, these jamming systems have also become key targets for Ukrainian drone teams, who want to remove anything that blocks their operations.

The 422nd regiment has been involved in attacks on two of these systems. One of them was hit just a few hours after being detected, in a joint operation with the SBU security service, said Kolesnyk.

A video of one attack showed a large explosion when a drone hit a site with six large trailer-like boxes.

"As soon as we hit that system, our Starlink-equipped drones could fly without any problems," said a crew commander with the callsign "Dyryhent."

Meanwhile, Musk has stopped Russian forces from using Starlink so that Moscow cannot use it for its own drone attacks.

SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment, and Russia's defense ministry did not comment either. Reuters said it could not independently confirm the methods Russia is using to avoid these drone strikes.