Ukraine Partners With Nokia and ICEYE to Develop a Sovereign Satellite Communication Network Following Starshield Restrictions

Ukraine's military has signed a letter of intent with two Finnish companies, Nokia and ICEYE, to explore building a sovereign satellite-communications network. The country currently relies heavily on foreign infrastructure, primarily SpaceX's Starlink and its military-grade version, Starshield, for frontline operations and drone warfare. The push for domestic control follows a severe throttling of Ukraine's Starshield access on October 14, which limited terminal speeds and caused multiple drones to fall.

While responsibility for the slowdown remains disputed between SpaceX founder Elon Musk and U.S. officials, the ongoing restrictions left Ukraine without direct authority over its critical communications. ICEYE already supplies synthetic aperture radar data to Ukraine for military intelligence and planning. Under the new agreement announced on October 22, Nokia and ICEYE will investigate establishing secure, high-performance systems that Ukraine fully controls.

Nokia previously partnered with ICEYE on October 1 to develop sovereign satellite communications for nations seeking reliable connectivity during ground disruptions. The defense partnership also intersects with wider orbital tensions. A Russian inspector satellite, Kosmos 2612, recently made a close approach to the ICEYE-X36 satellite operated by ICEYE US, though the exact intent behind the rendezvous remains unclear.