Berlin Reportedly Funds Kyiv’s Satellite Internet in Secret via French Provider Eutelsat
Berlin has reportedly funded Kyiv’s access to French satellite provider Eutelsat’s services.
Eutelsat, which provides satellite internet connection, is the world’s second-largest low-orbit satellite operator and serves as a potential alternative to the US’s Starlink services that are being used on the Ukrainian front to sustain battlefield communications.
Reuters, citing Eutelsat’s chief executive Eva Berneke, said Berlin has been funding Kyiv’s access to Eutelsat via a German distributor.
The revelation came as billionaire Elon Musk, who owns Starlink via his tech firm SpaceX, has been increasingly critical of Kyiv in various anti-Ukrainian statements. However, Musk maintains that Starlinks would not be turned off in Ukraine.
Berneke declined to comment on the cost but said there are currently fewer than a thousand Eutelsat terminals in Ukraine, a tiny fraction of the roughly 50,000 Starlink terminals believed to be in operation in the country.
Starlink also tallied around 6,000 satellites in low orbit in early 2024, compared with more than 600 for Eutelsat’s OneWeb. Eutelsat’s smaller number of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites are backed by satellites in higher, geostationary orbit.
Berneke said recently that Eutelsat was “the only alternative” and, despite “less capacity” than Starlink for now, had “perfect coverage” over Ukraine.
Berneke told Reuters that the company plans to deploy “between 5,000 and 10,000” Eutelsat terminals soon, potentially “within weeks.”
However, Eutelsat spokesperson Joanna Darlington told Reuters that it is unclear if Berlin would fund the additional terminals as the subject is under discussion.
“We don’t know yet how the EU collectively or country by country will fund efforts going forward,” Darlington said.
Germany’s Federal Foreign Office did not respond to Reuters’s request for comment.
Source: Kyiv Post