Ukraine's military communications and frontline defence remain entirely at the mercy of Elon Musk's satellite network as European capitals scramble for a viable alternative.
Last week brought a sudden slowdown of the Starlink service in Ukraine that crippled Kyiv's defensive operations and forced European leaders to confront a dangerous technological bottleneck.
SpaceX chief Elon Musk accused Ukrainian forces of violating terms of service by using the network for drone strikes, warning that any future breach would trigger a total cutoff. Musk wrote on X that were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. While France's Eutelsat offers a OneWeb service with roughly 600 active satellites, it remains dwarfed by Starlink's constellation of more than 10,000 units. The European Union's rival network, Iris², will not be operational until 2029, leaving frontline troops exposed to the whims of American providers. French researcher Vincent Tourret told BBC World that nobody can employ drone warfare without this kind of high-speed internet connection.
European lawmakers have openly condemned the dependency, with French MEP Christophe Grudler posting on social media that Ukraine's defence cannot depend on US political whims.
The EU satellite sharing network Govsatcom offers a civilian alternative, but it cannot be used for military warfare or controlling drones.