With US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tensions running high following a recent White House confrontation, Ukraine can no longer assume US backing in its conflict with Russian forces. This leaves fears that Trump supporter Elon Musk could turn off Ukraine’s use of the critical Starlink satellite communications system.
Last month, it was reported that US officials threatened to deny Ukraine access to the Starlink network in order to push Kyiv into sealing a minerals deal. At last year’s time, 42,000 Starlink terminals were being used by Ukraine, and Poland was paying for almost half of them.
EU Seeks Alternative Satellite OptionsPolitico has reported that the European Commission is currently evaluating how it can supply Ukraine with alternative satellite communication systems to ensure connectivity and operational effectiveness.
Kyiv Expresses Interest in GovsatcomCommission spokesman Thomas Regnier has confirmed that Ukraine has expressed interest in joining the EU network Govsatcom, which merges national government satellite capacity. Govsatcom is an EU space program and can be a substitute for Starlink.
Furthermore, Kyiv is looking into IRIS², a future satellite constellation due to come online by the 2030s. “The Commission will continue its contacts with Ukraine in that respect,” Regnier said.
URGE To Fast-Track Govsatcom Roll-OutFrench Renew MEP Christophe Grudler urged the EU immediately to examine secondary satellite alternatives to support Ukraine. Writing to the European Commission, Grudler advocated fast-tracing the rollout of Govsatcom by suspending the certificate approval process in order to grant the service’s access this year on an emergency basis until such a time when the EU IRIS² system can come into being.
EU official Philippe Regnier said that Govsatcom might offer Ukraine “precursor governmental services,” though details are not disclosed
Possible Consequences of Losing Starlink
A Reuters story last month quoted a person briefed on US and Ukrainian government discussions, highlighting the loss of Starlink as a major blow for Ukraine’s war efforts.
“Ukraine operates on Starlink. They view it as their North Star,” the source added. “To lose Starlink … would be a huge blow.”
SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, gave Ukraine access to Starlink immediately after Russia shut down its communications infrastructure in 2022. Military analysts think Starlink is crucial to Ukraine’s drone activities and battlefield coordination. Any cutoff of the service could seriously affect its defense strategy against Russian aggression.
