Ukraine war: Finnish companies help Ukraine with satellite communications

A dispute with the USA shows Ukraine how dependent it is on foreign satellite data. We are looking for an alternative, even if the road is still long.

Kyiv. Ukraine will work with Finnish companies ICEYE and Nokia on its own independent satellite communications. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry and the companies signed a memorandum of understanding during a visit to Kiev by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

Details and a schedule were not given. But the agreement comes amid Ukraine's conflict with the US over satellite data and internet. "We have agreed to make greater use of Finnish satellite capacities. This is important for our defense and Ukraine's resilience," said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine needs a secure satellite communications system that it controls itself, ICEYE boss Rafal Modrzewski said in a statement. The Finnish company's satellites reportedly provide reconnaissance data regardless of the weather or time of day. Shortly after the Russian invasion in 2022, the Ukrainian population bought the use of an ICEYE satellite for the army in a fundraising campaign.

In the past few days, the military-important satellite internet from the US company Starlink has only worked to a limited extent over Ukraine. Company boss Elon Musk and the US government gave contradictory information about who was responsible. Most recently, President Donald Trump said that Musk had lifted the throttling. So far there has been no confirmation from Kiev that Starlink is working at full speed again.