The European Union cannot replace “Starlink“ in the foreseeable future, said the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kallas, quoted by Agence France-Presse. Her statement comes after Ukraine complained about restrictions on Elon Musk's satellite network, which is of key importance for its armed forces, BTA reports.
“Starlink“ is truly indispensable for Ukraine and, unfortunately, Europe cannot replace it in the short term“, said Kallas at the European Council summit in Brussels. She added that European leaders are discussing the alliance's defense readiness to compensate for the missing capabilities.
In recent days, Kiev has said that allies did not warn it of impending Russian attacks after delays in satellite services from SpaceX, the company of billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump. The satellite system includes the military-grade Starshield, which Ukraine uses for frontline communications and defense operations, and the civilian Starlink network.
Musk said that any delays in the military Starshield system in Ukraine were the responsibility of the US government, not his company. The system was back up and running the next day, a Ukrainian Defense Ministry official said.
During the Brussels meeting, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jeten stressed that European and American officials regularly discuss the importance of reliable connectivity in Ukraine. “Fortunately, it has now been restored. We can see that Ukrainians have benefited from it immediately. Yesterday I discussed with the French president how we, as Europeans, can provide more services of this kind,“ he said.
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs also acknowledged that building capabilities comparable to those of the United States would take time. “We have some capacity in this regard, but not enough. "That is why this is a strategic issue that we need to discuss today," he said before meeting his European counterparts.
The EU has a satellite network operated by the French company “Eutelsat“, but it is significantly smaller than “Starlink“.