Kaja Kallas told reporters in Brussels on May 30 that the European Union had no immediate backup to Starlink, a network that had become vital for Ukraine’s battlefield communications.
Ukraine relies on the military‑grade Starshield for mid‑range strikes and drone interception, while its civilian Starlink users have seen speeds drop by up to 50% after the U.S. government allegedly imposed limits tied to a Trump‑era energy deal.
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulgars and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten have already outlined plans to leverage the EU’s IRIS² project and existing OneWeb satellites to fill the gap, saying a multinational build‑out will take years.
Shares of European satellite operators rose sharply after the disruption: Eutelsat jumped 12% on Friday, while SES gained 6.7%, as investors re‑evaluate the continent’s capacity to replace SpaceX’s dominance.
The EU will convene a joint defence‑technology conference on June 5, where ministers will set timelines for a European satellite network that can match Starlink’s coverage for Ukraine and other NATO partners.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers stationed near the Donetsk front line have reported sporadic outages that forced them to switch to analog radios, underscoring the immediate operational risk.