What if Ukraine was deprived of Starlink? Since the start of the Russian invasion, the Internet access service has been used by the government and the Ukrainian army, which have made it a pillar of their strategy. According to Reuters’ revelations, Washington has largely used this dependence to obtain from Ukraine an agreement on privileged access to its critical minerals -he should be officially signed on February 28. This dependence also weighs heavy in negotiations around a peace agreement.
Ukraine may have announced that they are looking for “alternatives” to Starlink, it will be difficult for it to find them. The SpaceX subsidiary, owned by Elon Musk, provides internet access thanks to a constellation of satellites installed in low orbit, which allows a reliable connection, without latency, and accessible everywhere thanks to mobile antennas. A service cut would be a disaster scenario for the Ukrainian army.
Starlink, an essential tool
On the ground, “telecom infrastructure has been the subject of Russian attacks since the start of the conflict, and many have been destroyed,” said Philippe Steininger, military advisor to the president of the CNES, the National Center for Spatial Studies. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia began with the crossing of the country’s border by the Russian army, but also invisible, with the cyber attack attributed to Russia on the ViaSat-2 satellite. This assault had made thousands of modems unusable across Ukraine and cut internet access during the first hours of the invasion.
In the first six months of the war, Russia also worked to destroy Ukrainian telecommunications networks, completely demolishing or appropriating infrastructure in 10 of the 24 Ukrainian regions, according to a 2023 UN report. ‘Ukraine also does not have sovereign satellites, “which still weakens the ability of the armed forces to be connected”, takes up the military adviser. Starlink provided providential aid in the country very early on.
The constellation has asserted itself as “an essential tool, used everywhere, whether for communications or on the battlefield”, explains Maxime Puteaux, Industry Advisor at Nova Space. These low orbit satellites allow us to have long distance communications with very little latency, which is essential to control drones. A key factor in the Ukrainian response. “This war called on civilian means, with drones, classic mobile phones … Starlink was able to quickly connect all these devices,” said Philippe Steininger.
The Constellation of Elon Musk has other advantages. “It is a more difficult solution to neutralize because there are many satellites,” said Maxime Puteaux. Unlike ViaSat-2, the hacking of which has kneel several thousand modems, Starlink is made up of thousands of different satellites. In hack only one would have no effect on the capacity of the whole network to operate.
The importance of this technology is felt beyond the battlefield. “When the Ukrainian army takes over a locality, they install Starlink for the local population. This becomes a very important infrastructure in a disaster area,” explains Maxime Puteaux.
But today, the situation of Ukraine compared to Starlink illustrates its technological dependence in the United States. This lack of sovereignty is “extremely dangerous for Ukraine, observes Philippe Steininger. But in 2022, they had no choice. They had no means of communication, and no sovereign satellites. Starlink were the only ones Offer what they were looking for.
Few effective alternatives
Difficult to find an alternative to a viable Starlink. There are only very rare competitors: Viasat has only a few hundred satellites, and mainly targets professional customers, Hughesnet is only available in the United States, and Kuiper, the Amazon constellation, should not Be available at the end of 2025. The Qiaanfan constellation is excluded from the equation for geopolitical reasons, China being an ally of Moscow.
Only one actor checks out some boxes: Eutelsat’s Oneweb constellation. But changing the operation would pose many challenges. “This would imply to start from scratch and change, both the terminals used by the ground troops and the technologies,” said Philippe Steininger. A logistics challenge that could make Ukrainian troops waste a lot of time. Above all, oneweb satellites orbit much higher than those of Starlink, at an altitude of 1,200 km against 550 km, which increases latency, making drone piloting much more complex.
In terms of mobility too, Starlink is unbeatable. “The terminals used to receive the signal are extremely small and light, more or less the size of a pizza box, illustrates Maxime Puteaux. They can be transported in backpacks by ground troops, or embarked by drones sailors or flying “. Light, easily available and inexpensive, these terminals have become essential equipment for Ukrainian soldiers.
Lack of volume for Oneweb
Oneweb terminals, thought not for individuals but for professional customers, are more powerful, but much more expensive and heavier. The lightest makes ten kilos, compared to 3 kilos for the smallest terminal put on sale by Starlink. They do not exist in the volumes that Ukraine needs. “Starlink produces thousands every month, while Oonweb uses resellers for his terminals and does not really master his production chain,” said Maxime Puteaux.
Oneweb shareholding “also raises questions, points out an expert in the sector wishing to remain anonymous. There are French, but also English, Japanese, and Indian actors”. However, India abstained during the UN vote to condemn the Russian aggression in Ukraine, and still maintains very good diplomatic and commercial relations with Moscow. “It would be difficult for such a company to position itself in the war in Ukraine and take part in a conflict.”
There remains another option, which can be used as a last resort: the geostationary satellites of allied countries. These devices, in orbit 36,000 kilometers from the earth, still have a defect in size compared to satellites in low orbit: a much greater latency. Bother for conventional communications, but impossible for drone management. Without Starlink and without a viable alternative, Ukraine would face immense difficulties in the field.