EU attempts to substitute Musk’s Starlink in Ukraine
(MENAFN) European Union officials are looking to replace Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service in Ukraine due to growing concerns about its reliability, Politico reported on Monday. The EU fears that Musk—an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump—could cut off Ukraine’s access, jeopardizing critical military communications.
Since 2022, Musk’s company SpaceX has donated over 40,000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine, and the service has become vital to the country’s battlefield operations. Ukraine also uses Starshield, a more secure, military-focused version of the Starlink network. However, Musk’s increasingly critical stance toward Ukraine’s war efforts has strained relations with Kiev.
Tensions escalated when Musk refused Ukraine’s request to activate Starlink over Crimea, effectively blocking a drone strike on Russian naval assets. Last month, Musk stated that the Ukrainian military is entirely dependent on Starlink, implying their defenses would collapse if it were deactivated.
These developments have prompted the EU to explore alternatives. One potential partner is Eutelsat, a French-British satellite firm. Eutelsat’s CEO, Eva Berneke, confirmed discussions with EU officials about funding satellite internet kits and expanding satellite coverage. Still, she admitted that no company currently rivals Starlink’s scale.
Starlink’s fleet of around 7,000 satellites offers significantly greater capacity over Ukraine compared to Eutelsat’s 600 satellites—between 23 and 490 times more, depending on the area. Berneke acknowledged that Eutelsat cannot fully replace Starlink’s services for either Ukraine’s military or civilians.
An EU Commission spokesperson confirmed that discussions with industry stakeholders and member states are underway. However, given Starlink’s dominance in the satellite internet market, particularly in terms of speed and reliability, a full replacement remains out of reach for now.
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