Ukraine plans independent satellite system with Finnish firms as Starlink problems persist
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday that Ukraine has agreed to partner with Finnish companies to develop an independent satellite communications system. The announcement comes as Ukraine's military continues to report problems with Starlink, the satellite internet service associated with Elon Musk.
Zelenskyy said he agreed with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo that Ukraine will make greater use of Finland's satellite capabilities for defence and resilience. He named the Finnish telecoms equipment company Nokia and the satellite firm ICEYE as the partners. On Thursday, during Orpo's visit to Kyiv, the Finnish companies signed a letter of intent, a preliminary document setting out planned cooperation, with Ukraine's Defence Ministry.
ICEYE has said its satellites provide reconnaissance data regardless of weather or time of day. Its chief executive, Rafal Modrzewski, said Ukraine needs a secure satellite communications system that it controls. On October 22, ICEYE published a press release announcing the partnership with Nokia and Ukraine's Ministry of Defence to develop what it described as sovereign satellite communications capability.
The plan follows a dispute over Starlink service. On October 13, Ukrainian officials said sudden restrictions on Starlink had left the country's military scrambling. Starshield is the military arm of Musk's Starlink system. On Friday, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence complained of lingering issues with Starshield military services, and a ministry source said instances of signal loss are still being observed.
Ukrainian officials said military-grade Starlink receivers stopped working in Ukraine when mounted on fast-moving objects. Ukrainian soldiers said slower Starlink speeds impaired the military's ability to detect and intercept incoming missiles and drones.
Reuters reported on October 15, citing sources, that the order to limit Starshield service for Ukraine came from inside the White House. On October 20, Reuters, citing the Wall Street Journal, reported that Musk ordered a slowdown of the military-grade version of Starlink used by Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Musk had restored access to the satellite internet service.
