By isolating Ukraine from vital intelligence, the US is also isolating itself—especially in space. However, this will not stop Ukraine’s efforts to protect civilians from Russian missile strikes, though it may complicate them, David Axe writes in a Forbes report.
On 5 March, reports emerged that the US President Donald Trump administration’s halt of intelligence sharing with Ukraine impacted warnings about Russian drone and missile strikes against both military and civilian targets. The US intelligence sharing pause went alongside a freeze in military aid for Ukraine after the heated argument between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on 28 February over the end of the war in Ukraine and security guarantees for the country. Trump said after the meeting that “Zelenskyy is not ready for peace” and said to come when “he would be ready.” Meanwhile, Russia has not made any such statements yet.
At the same time, the expert emphasizes that Ukraine’s European allies possess many of the same space capabilities as the US, albeit on a smaller scale. Commercial companies also provide similar services. In 2022, Ukraine leased a radar observation satellite from the Finnish company Iceye for $17 million.
Two years later, Germany funded the expansion of Ukraine’s space surveillance capabilities through Rheinmetall and Iceye. Meanwhile, the Netherlands paid $13 million to the American company Maxar, whose satellites regularly photograph nearly the entire Earth’s surface, for access to its imagery.
The Netherlands shares intelligence with Ukraine under a 2024 memorandum. Ukraine also receives space-based data from Europe’s major space powers: the UK, Italy, and France. Poland, for its part, finances Starlink services and has reaffirmed its commitment to continue funding them despite reports of possible restrictions on Ukraine’s access.
Additionally, the Franco-British satellite communications company Eutelsat is currently negotiating with the European Union to provide services to Ukraine.
Regarding the US “self-isolation” in the event of restricting intelligence data for Ukraine, the expert notes that American military and intelligence agencies do not always generate all intelligence themselves—they also benefit from data sharing, particularly through the Five Eyes alliance, which includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US, and the US.
However, under US President Donald Trump, this alliance could collapse. Amid escalating trade tensions with Canada and his bizarre idea of making Canada the 51st US state, Trump’s advisor Peter Navarro even called for Canada’s expulsion from Five Eyes—an action that would harm all members of the alliance.
Read also:
- “Defend yourself by yourself.” Telegraph predicts Zelenskyy will leave EU summit with warm words, not troops
- The Guardian: Military experts push for European Sky Shield to protect Ukrainian nuclear plants from Russian strikes
- Russian missile destroys hotel, kills two, while US aid pause threatens Ukraine’s air defenses
