Europe cannot hand Ukraine a working replacement for Starlink, and the reasons are structural rather than political, according to an episode of the podcast Briefed published on 12 November 2026 by EUobserver. The programme, hosted by Brussels journalist Léa Marchal and produced by Europod in co-production with Sphera Network, sets out where European satellite capacity sits, how it differs from SpaceX’s, and why the gap is measured in years.
Key facts
- Starlink, SpaceX’s consumer, corporate and military satellite internet service, relies on around 10,000 satellites in low orbit, EUobserver says. Starshield is the government and military version, using dedicated satellites and dedicated encryption, with Washington making it available to Ukraine.
- Most European satellites sit in high orbit, which EUobserver says brings a longer transmission delay and much bulkier receiving equipment — unsuited to the front line.
- Eutelsat, the French operator that absorbed the OneWeb constellation, has around 680 satellites across low and high orbit, EUobserver reports; the BBC, in coverage carried by Yahoo, puts it at about 600 active satellites.
- The EU’s IRIS² constellation is planned at 348 satellites, with deployment starting in 2029, EUobserver says.
- The United States spends around six times more on civil and military space programmes than Europeans do, according to EUobserver.
Why it matters
Ukraine’s war effort runs on two American tools that can be switched off, EUobserver says, and the dependence was exposed by restrictions that slowed Ukrainian drone operations in mid-October. Kari Bingen, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the BBC that this is a critical military capability Ukraine relies on but does not control. For anyone outside the United States buying satellite internet, the episode is a case study in who actually holds the switch on wartime satellite access.
What Europe actually has
Eutelsat began as a European intergovernmental organisation before being dismantled and its activity taken over by a company, EUobserver says. The French state remains its largest shareholder with around a third of the shares, alongside stakes held by the United Kingdom and an Indian group.
The company says it could replace Starlink in the medium term, meaning sometime in the 2030s, and plans to reinforce its fleet with several hundred new satellites — but most of those will replace older ones, so the net increase is small against Starlink, according to EUobserver.
Investors moved anyway. Shares in Eutelsat soared on 14 October after news of Ukraine’s Starshield problems, on bets that European providers could gain from strains between Washington and Kyiv, The Straits Times reported, citing Reuters.
The terminal problem
Independent satellite consultant Christian Freiherr von der Ropp told Reuters that OneWeb’s constellation remains rooted in an architecture and technology conceived a decade ago, and that capacity and performance constraints, plus the cost, weight, bulk and power consumption of its user terminals, limit frontline suitability. He also said switching networks would mean replacing thousands of terminals, because Starlink and Starshield hardware uses proprietary technology and cannot simply connect to OneWeb.
Eva Berneke, former chief executive of Eutelsat, told the BBC that the company’s terminals are slightly larger and can be fitted to a car roof or a tank, but cannot necessarily sit on small drones. She said she expects the company can support quite a lot of Ukraine’s key military needs. A Eutelsat spokesperson told Reuters it continues to provide connectivity in Ukraine through its low Earth orbit and geostationary networks with partners, and declined to comment further given the sensitivity of the situation. That gap has also drawn in smaller European suppliers pitching themselves as substitutes.
GOVSATCOM as the stopgap
Brussels is negotiating Ukraine’s entry into GOVSATCOM, the EU’s Governmental Satellite Communications programme, which pools member states’ satellite resources for secure government use. Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said on 14 October: “We are currently in talks with Ukraine to fully associate Ukraine to Govsatcom,” the Kyiv Post reported.
The hub began initial operations in January 2026, according to the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), and at its first operational deployment in March pooled services from France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain, with Cyprus the first country to acquire and use services through it. The EU Council authorised negotiations on Ukraine’s participation in GOVSATCOM and the Union Secure Connectivity Programme on 9 March — opening talks rather than granting access, the Kyiv Post notes.
Regnier said commercial capabilities could be added at the beginning of 2027, potentially supporting military needs, as an interim step before IRIS². No timeline has been given for when Ukraine will actually join, the BBC reported.
IRIS² and the 2029 wait
IRIS² is an EU project run by several companies including Eutelsat, with the EU as its main customer and, unlike OneWeb, not a commercial venture, EUobserver says. The BBC reports it is led by Eutelsat, SES and Hispasat in a consortium called SpaceRISE, that its 348 satellites will sit across low and medium Earth orbit, that the Commission describes it as defence-first, and that Ukraine has been guaranteed access from day one. The Kyiv Post cites the Commission describing a constellation of more than 300 satellites fully operational in 2029.
Cost, launchers and political pressure
Low-orbit satellites are much cheaper to place, which EUobserver says explains the volume SpaceX has launched. A second factor is that SpaceX owns its launcher, the Falcon 9, while Eutelsat must buy launches from third parties — more expensive, and leaving it without control over the pace of deployment.
European Defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius said at a Politico conference in Brussels on 14 October that the continent is “quite dependent on American space capabilities” and that the answer is to develop its own, per The Straits Times, which adds that Germany is building its own military satellite constellation. Renew Europe president Valérie Hayer said on 15 October that recent days had shown the urgent need for a European alternative to Starlink, the Kyiv Post reported.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Ukraine use GOVSATCOM to fly drones once it joins?
No. The BBC, in reporting carried by Yahoo, says GOVSATCOM cannot be used for warfare operations such as piloting drones, which is what Starshield is used for. Vincent Tourret of the French Institute of International Relations told the BBC that a backup link is useful for staying connected but, at this stage, would not be enough for strikes or interceptions.
What exactly happened to Ukraine’s Starshield link in October?
The Kyiv Post reports that restrictions detected overnight on 13–14 October cut connections at different movement speeds, roughly 72 to 161 kilometres per hour, with no advance warning to units, affecting interceptor and strike drones as well as reconnaissance, logistics and relay missions. Former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said connectivity up to 160km/h was being restored; one Ukrainian source told the Kyiv Post that operating speeds needed to reach at least 450km/h.
Who decided to restrict the service?
That remains disputed. Elon Musk wrote on X that any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately the president, according to The Straits Times, while the Kyiv Post reports a senior White House official told Axios the Trump administration was not involved. President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused those responsible of deliberately restricting the service during Russian attacks.
Is China building a Starlink rival too?
EUobserver’s Briefed episode describes China as another big actor that is quite new to the space industry and not spending huge amounts of money for the moment, while adding that Beijing is worth keeping an eye on. The sources give no Chinese constellation size or timeline.
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