Ukraine’s Starlink disruptions expose US reliance as Europe has no ready alternative

Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that Starshield, SpaceX's military-grade satellite communications service, had been interrupted when terminals were moving at high speed, which disrupted Ukrainian drones being used for attack missions and air defence.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said Wednesday that for the second night in a row Ukraine had not received warning from its partners of a Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. 

The US-operated Space-Based Infrared System provides early missile launch warnings.

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said Wednesday that any restrictions were the responsibility of the US government, echoing suggestions by Ukrainian defence officials, as relations between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine have soured, after Trump announced a deal to lift sanctions on Russian diesel and called for Zelenskiy to be replaced.

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“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk said, referring to the President of the United States.

European countries that have has been strongly supportive of Ukraine and Zelenskiy have been unable to offer immediate alternatives, highlighting the reliance on American technology.

European operator Eutelsat's OneWeb network offers satellite connectivity, but it is not well suited to replace Starlink immediately in wartime, and switching networks would also require replacing or adapting thousands of terminals, as the two systems are not interconnected.

Eutelsat said it continued to provide connectivity services in Ukraine through its low Earth orbit and geostationary network, with its partners.

European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius acknowledged the broader problem at a conference in Brussels on Wednesday.

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Europe is “quite dependent on American space capabilities”, he said, calling for the continent to develop its own systems, pointing to the European Union's planned IRIS² satellite constellation. 

However, that project remains years from becoming operational. 

Germany is also developing a military satellite constellation, and Kubilius urged European countries to work together.

(with Reuters)