Ukraine, which depends on Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications in a war that has decimated the country’s telecommunications infrastructureHe is discovering that there is no easy way out.
As relations with the administration of President Donald Trump deteriorate, the country has accelerated the processes to find other options in case Musk cancels the contract. Ukraine is considering resorting to European satellite suppliers and establishing a network of antennas, modems and cables on land, officials and military personnel told Bloomberg.
But the alternatives have inconveniences and the country cannot afford a delay if they lose access, they said.
The French satellite company Eutelsat Communications SA, which operates the second largest low orbit satellite service after Starlink, has presented itself as the most viable alternative. The investors agreed, which made the price of the company’s shares increase almost six times in the week after Trump’s public argument and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski in the White House.
Even so, executive director Eva Berneke said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday that her company needs “a couple of months” and Financial aid to provide 40,000 terminals to Ukraine to replace Starlink in the country.
While Musk has not said that he will withdraw access to Starlink, Ukraine has been losing ground in the face of Russian forces and will not be affected by slowly implementing an alternative service. The United States has also suspended military assistance and restricted the exchange of intelligence information with kyivwhile the Trump administration seeks to press Ukraine leaders to negotiate.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, which supervised the effort to integrate Starlink into the country, refused to comment on the service. A Musk Spacex representative did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Eutelsat is also approximately 10 times smaller than its rival, and the more than 600 Leo satellites of the French company are also located at an altitude greater than the 7,000 Starlink.
“The constellation will have a lower capacity, which will limit the actions that Ukraine can undertake, “said CCS Insight analyst Joe Gardiner, who warned that getting evicted to Starlink will not be as simple as changing terminals. Other problems range since Eutelsat OneWeb terminals are less mobile than Starlink, to lower quality teams and lack of interoperability with Starlink, he added.
The army uses Starlink to operate drones, make air recognition, guide artillery and maintain connections between units. The service is also used in hospitals and schools near the front, where the communications infrastructure has been practically useless.
The troops in the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukraine has taken possession of territory, are operating without access to Starlink and the army is trying to learn from that experience, said Mustafa Nayyem, former Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine. “Of course this would be a great loss for us, “he said about a possible service cut.
The loss of Starlink would be “very painful, but not catastrophic,” said Military Blogger and Radio Technology Beskrestnov. There are several alternative communication channels available, but they are more expensive and slower, he said.
According to Ivan, an artillery soldier out close to the front in Pokrovsk, which can only be identified by his first name due to military policy, communications are much more complicated without Starlink. Without it, the soldiers have to use walkie-worktas improvised with improved antennas to avoid the surveillance of the Russians, he said.
“Without Starlink everything is going to be bad,” said Ivan.
Even before the Trump-Zellenski conflict, Ukraine had already been exploring alternatives. In Europe there is a growing consensus that the continent needs to free itself from a United States dependence that has lasted decades in security. The EU and its member states are rushing to mobilize billions of euros in additional funds for defense in order to develop sovereign abilities and compensate Trump’s dramatic setback in commitments contracted by the United States.
The European Commission is maintaining conversations with the Member States and the Industry, and “we understand that the agency is not the best way to have our own security,” said commission spokesman Thomas Regnier.
Germany and Britain are leading efforts among European allies to compensate for frozen American military support, That he could include satellite communications to replace the services provided so far by Starlink, said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, to journalists in Berlin on Thursday.
“We could provide more help by supplying everything, from artillery ammunition to Starlink Command and Control Communications,” Pistorius said at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart in Berlin.
The Italian government has increasing doubts about closing an agreement with Starlink to provide safe satellite communications services given the changing geopolitical panorama And he is also in conversations with Eutelsat, Bloomberg reported this week.
The Ukrainian army has depended on the Spacex Starlink systems since the first months of the war. The terminals were initially donated by Musk, although they are now financed largely by Europe. Last month, Musk denied the reports that the United States had threatened to disconnect Starlink.
Musk restricted access to Starlink in 2022 to prevent Ukraine from using it for an attack on the Russian Black Sea fleet, for fear that he could trigger an escalation in the conflict. That year, he also threatened to cut the financing of Starlink after Ukrainian officials criticized him for suggesting that the Government gave territory in exchange for a peace agreement with Russia.
