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Eutelsat said it was in talks with European governments about providing additional satellite connectivity in Ukraine, as investors bet that the French satellite operator could replace Elon Musk’s Starlink in the country.
Eutelsat, the owner of OneWeb, a rival to Starlink, said on Tuesday that it was “actively collaborating with European institutions and business partners”, adding that it had equipment that could be “deployed swiftly in Ukraine to connect the most critical missions and infrastructures”.
Ukraine has relied heavily on Starlink for its military campaigns as it has played a critical role in improving its communications on the battlefield, but there are fears this could be under threat after the US suspended military aid to Kyiv on Monday.
Shares in Eutelsat soared almost 80 per cent on Tuesday after rising by a third on Monday, as traders bet that European leaders’ efforts to support Ukraine and shoulder more of the burden for its security would boost demand for the group’s services.
US officials have raised the possibility of cutting Ukraine’s access to Starlink’s satellite system, Reuters reported last week. Musk, Starlink’s billionaire owner and a key adviser to US President Donald Trump, said in a tweet that the story was false.
Eutelsat said its talks with European governments were focused on using a combination of its satellite constellations — OneWeb at about 1,200km above the earth and the Geo satellites at 35,000km — to strengthen satellite connectivity in Ukraine and the Black Sea region.
Both are capable of providing connectivity for Ukrainian drones, which have inflicted serious damage on Russian forces. Some military experts believe any large concentration of Russian troops or tanks would be decimated by Ukrainian drone attacks.
The EU on Tuesday proposed a package of €150bn in loans to capitals for defence procurement. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the move could facilitate “immediate military equipment for Ukraine”.
Eutelsat said that “the timing [of deploying additional user terminals for critical missions and infrastructure] depends on procurement decisions by European member states and the necessary infrastructure co-ordination”.
OneWeb already provides services to Ukraine through a German distributor, but its technology is older than Starlink’s. Starlink has more than 7,000 satellites in orbit, while OneWeb has fewer than 700.
OneWeb terminals, designed for business and government use rather than residential customers, are also larger and less portable than Starlink’s.
Jan Frederik Slijkerman, a senior credit strategist for telecoms and media at ING, said the prospect of Eutelsat providing more satellite capacity in Ukraine highlighted its “importance for European defence capabilities”.
Eutelsat said the extent to which its satellites could complement existing military communications in Ukraine depended on specific operational requirements, security protocols and integration with existing systems.
