French-British firm admits it can’t compete with Musk’s Starlink

Kiev’s European backers want to replace Elon Musk’s Starlink in Ukraine but no local provider can take its place, Politico reported on Monday, citing French-British satellite operator Eutelsat. Brussels is concerned that the tech tycoon could shut down the service and disrupt Ukrainian military communications, according to the outlet.

Musk, a major ally of US President Donald Trump and CEO of SpaceX, which operates Starlink, has donated more than 40,000 satellite internet terminals to Kiev since 2022. Ukrainian troops have come to depend heavily on the system in combat operations. SpaceX has also provided access to Starshield, a more secure, military-grade version of the network.

While Vladimir Zelensky’s government initially viewed Musk as a key supporter, the relationship soured as the tech tycoon grew more critical of Kiev’s war effort.

Tensions deepened after Musk denied Ukraine’s request to activate Starlink over Crimea, Russia, reportedly thwarting a drone attack against Russian ships. Last month, Musk wrote on X that “the Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army,” warning that “their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off.”

Politico reported that EU officials now view Musk’s growing criticism of Ukraine as a threat to Starlink’s reliability. Brussels is reportedly in talks with several companies to find alternatives, including French-British satellite operator Eutelsat. CEO Eva Berneke confirmed to the news outlet discussions over EU funding for shipping user kits to Ukraine and expanding satellite launches to boost capacity.

“[Working with Starlink] is a dependence that can be decided in the White House or Mar-a-Lago. It’s good to have multiple options,” Berneke told the outlet. She acknowledged, however, that no provider is close to matching Starlink’s scale. It operates around 7,000 satellites, compared to Eutelsat’s 600. Depending on the scenario, Starlink offers 23 to 490 times more capacity over Ukraine.

“If we were to take over the entire connectivity capacity for Ukraine and all the citizens, we wouldn’t be able to do that,” she said.

European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier confirmed the initiative, telling Politico that “discussions are indeed ongoing at [the] EU level, with the member states and with the industry.”

Starlink operates through low-Earth orbit satellites, which offer high-speed, low-latency connections essential for battlefield coordination and drone warfare. Since 2019, Starlink has dominated the satellite internet market, launching more satellites than any competitor. While rivals such as Eutelsat, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, and Canada’s Telesat have recently stepped up investment, they remain far behind, making it unlikely the EU could offer a realistic substitute, the news outlet said.