Ukraine seeks talks with US on new contract for military Starlink analogue

Ukraine’s contract with the US for access to the Starshield military satellite network — a Starlink analogue from SpaceX owner Elon Musk’s company — expires in mid-2027.

This is reported by Reuters.

Kyiv is seeking to start negotiations on a new agreement as soon as possible. This was stated by Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, Denys Sienik.

“We want clarity: whether we can move forward and what the terms will be,” the diplomat said.

The question of extending the contract arose amid October restrictions on Starshield’s operation. At that time, a sudden reduction in the permissible speed of movement of the terminals made it difficult for Ukrainian military personnel to intercept Russian attack drones and forced some operations to be cancelled.

According to Sienik, Kyiv never received explanations for the reasons behind the restrictions from either Washington or SpaceX.

Earlier, the Pentagon refused to investigate the slowing of Starlink and Starshield communications in Ukraine.

Western media also reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces violated SpaceX’s ban by using commercial Starlink communications for military purposes.