The agreement between Ukraine and the US government granting access to the “Starshield” satellite network expires in the middle of next year, and Kyiv is urgently seeking to begin talks on a new deal. This was stated by Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, Denys Sienyk.
“The contract for Starshield expires next year. And we understand that it takes time to negotiate a new one,” Sienyk said. He added: “Actually, now is the time.”
The diplomat did not specify the exact month in which the contract expires, saying only that this would happen around the middle of 2027. “We want it to be clear to us whether we can continue and what the conditions will be,” he added.
Restrictions hampered drone interceptions
Starshield’s role in Ukraine’s defence attracted attention last month, when battlefield commanders reported a sudden throttling of the service. According to the reports, this hampered the Ukrainian armed forces’ ability to intercept Russian attack drones and led to the cancellation of some operations.
Sienyk said Kyiv had received no explanation for what happened from either the US government or SpaceX—the company owned by Elon Musk that provides the Starshield military service to the US government. The company’s Starlink commercial service is offered worldwide.
Problems are mounting in relations with the US
The issue of access to Starshield is part of a series of difficulties in relations between Kyiv and Washington. In recent weeks, Ukraine said that at certain times it had experienced gaps in receiving US intelligence on Russian missile attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also complained about delays in critically important deliveries of Patriot and NASAMS missile systems intended to protect the country from Russian attacks. He also criticised US President Donald Trump’s deal with Russia on diesel fuel.
Trump, for his part, criticised Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. According to Reuters, high energy prices put pressure on Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, after which the party lost control of the US Congress.
Kyiv now faces the need to clarify with the US whether access to Starshield will be extended and under what conditions. The Ukrainian side has not received a specific answer about the reasons for the restrictions, while the current contract expires in about a year.
Sources: bta.bg, internazionale.it