Europe's Eutelsat to help replace Starlink in Ukraine?

EUTELSAT'S stock price has more than quadrupled since a public row on February 28 between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump, after which Washington paused military aid to Ukraine. Eutelsat already supports government and institutional communications in Ukraine, and told Reuters it can provide an alternative for certain government and defence applications. Here is a summary by Reuters of how Eutelsat might help Ukraine meet its communication needs.

Eutelsat OneWeb Form World’s 1st GEO-LEO Comms Operator.

Source: Orbital Today 29 Sep 2023

Space Security Conference: Negotiating European Space Sovereignty In The New World Order. Source: Orbital Today 10 Mar 2025 

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Report from Reuters
By Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk; 

Additional reporting by Michal Aleksandrowicz; Editing by Kevin Liffey
Dated Friday, 7 March 2025 6:36 PM GMT - full copy:

Explainer: Could Europe's Eutelsat help to replace Starlink in Ukraine?

The logo of the European satellite operator Eutelsat is pictured at the company's headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, August 17, 2022. Reuters/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

STOCKHOLM/GDANSK, March 5 (Reuters) - Suggestions that Ukraine could lose access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet system, which has been vital in maintaining its military communications as it fights Russia's invasion, have focused investor interest on Starlink's smaller European rival Eutelsat (ETL.PA).

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Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last month that the United States might use Starlink access as a lever in talks with Kyiv about its critical minerals, and the Franco-British company has said it is talking to the EU about providing additional services to Ukraine.

Eutelsat's stock price has more than quadrupled since a public row on February 28 between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump, after which Washington paused military aid to Ukraine.

Here is a summary of how Eutelsat might help Ukraine to meet its communication needs:

HOW CRUCIAL IS STARLINK TO UKRAINE?

Starlink users access the internet for data or voice communication by using a small satellite dish to bounce signals off a constellation of satellites overhead.

Ukraine's fixed-line and mobile networks have been badly damaged by bombing since Russia invaded in February 2022, and Starlink has helped Kyiv to fill the void by sending tens of thousands of its dishes with terminals.

Some are made available to civilians, often trying to contact relatives on smartphones.

But most are used by Ukraine's armed forces, which also have to contend with heavy signal jamming and interception of communications on the front lines. Ukrainian units often talk to each other via Starlink, and its services have become virtually indispensable for battlefield command and control.

Ukraine also used Starlink to guide attack drones until Musk's rocket firm SpaceX curbed the practice two years ago.

Originally, SpaceX helped to fund provision of Starlink to Ukraine. The U.S. government then took over, though last month Poland said it had been paying Ukraine's Starlink subscription and would continue to do so.

HOW DOES EUTELSAT COMPARE TO STARLINK?

Eutelsat already supports government and institutional communications in Ukraine, and told Reuters that it can provide an alternative for certain government and defence applications.

Since its merger in 2023 with Britain's OneWeb, Eutelsat controls the only operational global-coverage constellation, besides Starlink, of satellites in low earth orbit (LEO).

Starlink's more than 7,000 LEO satellites, suited to real-time communication, allow it to reach more users around the world and offer higher data speeds.

But Eutelsat says that, even with only 630 or so LEO satellites, backed up by 35 linked satellites in higher, geostationary orbit, it offers the same capabilities as Starlink in Europe.

Starlink promises broadband at up to 200 megabits per second, Eutelsat 150.

OneWeb terminals, however, cost as much as $10,000, plus a monthly subscription price. Starlink charges Ukrainian users a one-time payment of $589 in addition to a monthly subscription of $95-$440, depending on the usage.

It is not known whether any donor would offer to fund more Ukrainian OneWeb subscriptions. France and Britain, which are spearheading a peace deal to present to the U.S., hold a combined 24.8% stake in Eutelsat Group.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER ALTERNATIVES?

Global competition to Starlink is shaping up, but slowly.

Luxembourg-based SES (SESFg.LU) delivers some satellite services to the Western NATO defence alliance via its medium earth orbit constellation of O3b mPOWER satellites.

But like many other legacy satellite operators, it prioritises corporate customers, governments and militaries, offering no direct-to-consumer services, with terminals that are not consumer-friendly.

Some EU initiatives such as IRIS² (pronounced 'Iris squared') and GOVSATCOM - which Kyiv is interested in - will take years to become fully operational.

(This story has been corrected to say 'sources familiar with the matter,' not 'negotiators,' in paragraph 2)

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View original and video (02:56 min) here: https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/could-europes-eutelsat-help-replace-starlink-ukraine-2025-03-05/

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Related

From Times of India

Dated 11 March 2025

How and why Elon Musk's public spat with Poland FM led to almost 400% jump in stock price of Europe's Starlink rival

Eutelsat's stock skyrocketed nearly 390% last week due to speculation it may replace SpaceX's Starlink in Ukraine. The French satellite company is exploring an expanded role in Ukraine and is negotiating with the EU to bolster internet services. ... Eutelsat, Europe's rival to Elon Musk's Starlink, has seen ...

Full story: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/118888047.cms

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Sudan: SAF airstrikes on Khartoum & Madani kill 11+

From Radio Dabanga
Dated Sun, 07 Jan 2024; 12:24 Khartoum /Wad Madani - full copy:

At least 11 dead as airstrikes on Sudan capital and Wad Madani continue

Missiles collected in a neighbourhood of Omdurman (Photo: Social media)

The Sudanese air force continue to attack sites of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and Wad Madani in the past few days. Various neighbourhoods of greater Khartoum were hit by barrel bombs targeting RSF sites yesterday. In Wad Madani, capital of El Gezira, at least 11 people were killed as a result of aerial bombardments on Friday.

Several areas of Khartoum state witnessed intense air strikes yesterday. “Warplanes and drones flew over Khartoum, in particular in the eastern and southern parts of the city, dropping a number of barrel bombs,” residents reported.

The RSF used “ground missiles and mortars” in the vicinity of the General Command of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in the centre of the city, and the Signal Corps in Khartoum North, they said.

The neighbourhoods of old Omdurman witnessed an exchange of artillery shelling by both sides on Friday. The clashes continued until Saturday morning.

‘Intermittently’

The resistance committees of Wad Madani, reported yesterday that at least 11 people, including six minors, were killed by bombs in the El Dabbagha neighbourhood on Friday.

“It is difficult in reaching the location of the casualties due to the complex security situation in El Dabbagha, El Riyadh, El Gadisiya, and the Hantoub neighbourhoods,” they stated.

The air force intermittently bombed the capital of El Gezira and its surrounding areas since the RSF took control of the city on December 18.

Since the war between the RSF and SAF broke out on April 15 last year, more than 12,000 people have been killed, and approximately 7.2 million people were displaced from their homes, half of whom are children, since making it the largest displacement crisis globally.

View original: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/at-least-11-killed-as-airstrikes-on-sudan-capital-and-wad-madani-continue

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President Putin visits UAE & Saudi Arabia Dec 6 before meeting next day in Russia with Iran president

Report from BBC News

By George Wright

Dated Wednesday, 06 December 2023 - excerpts:

Russian President Putin lands in UAE

Image Source, Reuters. Image caption, 

Vladimir Putin was welcomed by the UAE's foreign minister

Mr Putin told UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that "our relations have reached unprecedented levels".

Trade and oil will be on the agenda in the UAE, which a Kremlin statement said is "Russia's main economic partner in the Arab world".

The Russian president is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia later on Wednesday to meet with the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The two leaders will "consider ways to promote de-escalation" in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Kremlin said.

Conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and Sudan will also be discussed in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Russian presidential assistant Yuri Ushakov stated.

Kremlin officials have also announced that Mr Putin will meet with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi on Thursday to discuss the war in Gaza.

Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67636648

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Related report 

From Oil Price dot com

By RFE/RL staff 
Dated Wed, 05 Dec 2023, 10:00 AM CST - here is a copy in full:

Putin Makes Rare Trip Abroad With Visit To Saudi Arabia, UAE

• In a rare trip abroad as an international arrest warrant hangs over him, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on December 6.

• The Kremlin said on December 5 that bilateral relations and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will be discussed during the meetings.

• Following the one-day trip, Putin will return home and meet Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the Kremlin said.

In a rare trip abroad as an international arrest warrant hangs over him, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on December 6 before heading home for a meeting with Iran's president the next day.

The Kremlin said on December 5 that bilateral relations and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will be discussed during the meetings, while issues concerning the oil market, "are also always on the agenda."

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in March issued arrest warrants for Putin and his children's commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for being responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia -- a war crime under international legislation.

While Putin did not make many foreign trips before the warrant was issued, he has curtailed his travel even more since.

He did not attend the G20 summit in India in September, and has limited his recent trips to countries such as China and states of the former Soviet Union.

With the warrant, Putin became the third serving head of state to be targeted in an arrest warrant from the ICC, the world's permanent war crimes tribunal, along with Sudan's Omar al-Bashir and Libya's Muammar Qaddafi.

The Kremlin did not give details of Putin's agenda, but the online news outlet Shot, which first reported the trip, quoted Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov as saying the Russian leader would travel first to the U.A.E. before heading on to Saudi Arabia, where talks would include a meeting with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

Putin and the prince have developed close ties over the years as they worked to form a group of leading oil producers, now known as OPEC+, in late 2016. The group has worked to support the price of oil, and last week announced voluntary supply cuts.

Following the one-day trip, Putin will return home and meet Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the Kremlin said.

Putin visited Iran in July 2022, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Tehran in October.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Iran has widely been accused of delivering cheap but effective kamikaze drones to Moscow.

While Iran denies the allegations, saying it only sold drones to Moscow before the war started, U.S. officials have repeatedly accused Tehran of supplying Shahed-136 Iranian drones that Russia has used to destroy civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. There has been evidence of Iranian drones rebranded as Russian Geran-2s being used on the battlefield.

And as the two countries have increased military-technical cooperation, Iran's Defense Ministry has routinely showcased its ballistic, cruise, anti-tank, and air-defense missile systems to Russian officials.

This has raised fears Moscow and Tehran could try to expand their existing arms dealing to include more advanced weaponry, know-how, and technology that could boost both Russia's war effort in Ukraine and Iran's ballistic-missile and drone programs.

By RF/ERL

View original:

https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/Putin-Makes-Rare-Trip-Abroad-With-Visit-To-Saudi-Arabia-UAE.html

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Saudi Arabia signs major order for Turkish drones

Report from Reuters

By Aziz El Yaakoubi

Published on Tuesday July 18, 2023 at 11:29 AM GMT+1 - excerpt:

Saudi Arabia buys Turkish drones during Erdogan's visit

RIYADH, July 18 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia agreed on Tuesday to buy Turkish drones in the biggest defence contract in Turkey's history as President Tayyip Erdogan reaped the benefits of his diplomatic push to repair ties with Gulf powers and help Ankara's struggling economy.

Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attended the signing ceremony between Turkish defence firm Baykar and the Saudi defence ministry, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

Full story: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-turkey-sign-mous-energy-defence-other-fields-2023-07-18/

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Defense News - 18 Jul 2023

Saudi Arabia signs major order for Turkish drones

Erdogan will also visit Qatar and the UAE during his Gulf visit.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2023/07/18/saudi-arabia-signs-major-order-for-turkish-drones/

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