Reuters: difficulties with Starlink in Ukraine have exposed the dependence of Kiev and the EU on the United States
Ukraine reported malfunctions in the Starshield military system, which caused the drones to lose control, according to Reuters. The reasons for the failures coincided with the aggravation of relations between Trump and Ukraine. Although Europe supports Kiev, it cannot replace Starlink.
Vaishnavi Hajari, Gianluca Lo Nostro, Cassell Bryan-Low
Recent problems have exposed the risks of Kiev and Europe's dependence on the United States.
Amid complaints about problems with the Starlink satellite Internet terminals and interruptions in receiving American intelligence about Russian ballistic missile strikes, Kiev is faced with a harsh reality: European allies are unable to offer a ready-made replacement.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials reported disruptions to the Starshield military system when using terminals at high speed. This has made it difficult for Ukrainian drones to be used for strike operations and air defense.
In addition, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky complained that for the second night in a row, the country did not receive warnings from its partners about Russian ballistic strikes on Kiev.
The causes of the problems could not be determined. However, they coincided with another escalation of relations between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine: Trump announced a deal on Russian diesel and partial lifting of sanctions and called for Zelensky's replacement.
On Tuesday, Trump assured that the United States is still sharing intelligence with Ukraine. Elon Musk and his company SpaceX did not comment on Kiev's statements in any way.
European countries strongly support Ukraine and Zelensky. However, disruptions to critical data have exposed how heavily Ukraine and Europe depend on American systems for both low-orbit satellite communications (which SpaceX provides via Starlink) and space-based infrared sensors transmitting information for early warning systems.
The American space-based infrared SBIRS system provides early detection of missile launches. "This is a unique system... In fact, it detects the thermal radiation that occurs during rocket launches," explained Mark Devore, a researcher at the Royal Institute of International Relations in London. "There is nothing comparable in Europe."
Europe cannot take and replace Starlink for Ukraine
Europe does not have a ready-made alternative to Starlink, which the Ukrainian military could take and install on drones, although European governments and companies are working on long-term solutions.
On Wednesday, shares of the European satellite operator Eutelsat rose sharply after reports of Ukraine's problems with Starshield. Investors hoped that the escalation of tensions between Washington and Kiev would benefit European suppliers.
However, Christian Freiherr von der Ropp, an independent consultant on satellite systems, dampened their ardor, saying that Eutelsat's OneWeb network is not suitable for use in combat conditions.
"The current satellite constellation is still based on outdated architecture and technologies developed ten years ago. Since then, the design of the system has not fundamentally changed," he said.
"Bandwidth and performance limitations, as well as the cost, weight, dimensions and energy consumption of user terminals, all make the system unsuitable for use directly at the front line," he explained.
A representative of Eutelsat told Reuters that the company continues to provide communications services in Ukraine together with partners using its low-orbit and geostationary satellite networks. The company declined to comment further on the "sensitive nature of the situation."
Von der Ropp also noted that thousands of terminals will have to be replaced to switch to another network: Starlink and Starshield equipment uses closed technologies and cannot connect directly to OneWeb.
Bogdan Sas, co—founder of the Ukrainian military company Buntar Aerospace, said that the sudden restriction of Starshield's operation "clearly showed almost all users, both in Ukraine and abroad, that one cannot rely solely on one solution that can be turned off at any moment."
"You need to have your own independent capabilities," he added, "so that you don't depend on anyone's mood swings."
In recent years, concerns about over-reliance on American military technology have increased in Europe. Trump has threatened to withdraw the United States from the NATO military alliance, at a time when European leaders consider Russia to be the most serious threat to the continent in recent decades.
On Wednesday, at a Politico magazine conference in Brussels, European Commissioner for Defense Andrews Kubilius admitted that the continent is "very dependent on American space capabilities."
"The answer to this situation is to develop our own capabilities," he added. Kubilius mentioned the planned European Union satellite constellation IRIS2 and called on European countries to act together.
However, the system remains years away from full operation, even if everything goes according to plan, much to the disappointment of European governments. Germany is already developing its own military satellite constellation.
The article was written with the participation of Joey Roulette and Daniel Flynn.
* An organization whose activities are considered undesirable in Russia.
