Ukraine's Defense Ministry Develops Alternatives to Starlink Service

Amid the threat of Starlink being shut down, Ukraine' s Ministry of Defense is working on an alternative to the satellite Internet system.

As the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov said during the forum "Ukraine. Year 2025" forum, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that they are already working on this, and there are alternatives.

"We do not disclose, soon together with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and our other colleagues from the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces we will announce how we will have these solutions. But there is already a solution, there is an alternative," the Ukrainian minister said.

Earlier, Reuters reported, citing its sources, that U.S. negotiators pressuring Kyiv for access to Ukraine's critical mineral resources have raised the possibility of restricting the country's access to Elon Musk's vital Starlink satellite Internet system.

Ukraine's continued access to SpaceX-owned Starlink was discussed during meetings between US and Ukrainian officials after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected an initial proposal by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, sources said.

The issue was raised again on Thursday during a meeting between US Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg and Zelenskiy, one of the sources said. During the meeting, Ukraine was told that it faces imminent termination of service if it does not reach a deal on minerals, the source said. Neither Kyiv nor Washington has officially confirmed this.

The day before, Polish Minister of Digitalization Krzysztof Gawkowski said that Poland had purchased Starlink terminals for Ukraine and was paying for their operation, and that he "cannot imagine that someone could decide to terminate a business contract for a commercial service to which Poland is a party."

Олеся Ланцман