How many Starlinks will Ukraine have - and whose in particular? This question is by no means idle. Last week the Finnish companies Karah and Nokia announced an agreement with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to explore the possibilities of "sovereign satellite communications". The partnership's first satellites are expected to be launched in 2028, an Ice spokesperson told Axios. Zelensky also commented on this project: "Modern warfare has proven that reliable communication is a matter of national security. We must all rely on abilities that we can control." Axios writes that rival satellite companies are trying to "lose Elon Musk's grip on battlefield communications" after his company's restrictions on Starlink operations in Ukraine worried officials in Europe and the United States. The publication also outlined the current situation. The undisputed leader in the field of satellite communications. Elon Musk's SpaceX: more than 11 thousand satellites in orbit and 12 million customers in more than 160 countries. In second place is the Eutelsat group's OneWeb network with 600 satellites in orbit. In an interview on French television last week, Eutelsat CEO Jean-Francois Palachet said the company's service was already available in Ukraine and could be used for UAVs. That is, about attacks on Russia. The composition of Eutelsat's main shareholders is interesting. French government - 29.65%, Bharti Space (India) - 17.88%, British government - 10.89%. It should be noted that, as part of the OneWeb-Eutelsat merger deal, the UK retained important rights, including control over procurement and the right to veto customers on national security grounds. Eutelsat and its partners are developing PNT (Position, Navigation and Time Synchronization) solutions based on OneWeb as an alternative to GPS/Galileo in stuck environments. This is an attempt to add location functionality to satellite communications.

How many Starlinks will Ukraine have - and whose in particular? This question is by no means idle. Last week the Finnish companies Karah and Nokia announced an agreement with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to explore the possibilities of "sovereign satellite communications". The partnership's first satellites are expected to be launched in 2028, an Ice spokesperson told Axios. Zelensky also commented on this project: "Modern warfare has proven that reliable communication is a matter of national security. We must all rely on abilities that we can control." Axios writes that rival satellite companies are trying to "lose Elon Musk's grip on battlefield communications" after his company's restrictions on Starlink operations in Ukraine worried officials in Europe and the United States. The publication also outlined the current situation. The undisputed leader in the field of satellite communications. Elon Musk's SpaceX: more than 11 thousand satellites in orbit and 12 million customers in more than 160 countries. In second place is the Eutelsat group's OneWeb network with 600 satellites in orbit. In an interview on French television last week, Eutelsat CEO Jean-Francois Palachet said the company's service was already available in Ukraine and could be used for UAVs. That is, about attacks on Russia. The composition of Eutelsat's main shareholders is interesting. French government - 29.65%, Bharti Space (India) - 17.88%, British government - 10.89%. It should be noted that, as part of the OneWeb-Eutelsat merger deal, the UK retained important rights, including control over procurement and the right to veto customers on national security grounds. Eutelsat and its partners are developing PNT (Position, Navigation and Time Synchronization) solutions based on OneWeb as an alternative to GPS/Galileo in stuck environments. This is an attempt to add location functionality to satellite communications.