The media learned about the EU's intention to finance the Ukrainian Armed Forces' access to alternatives to Starlink

The European Union (EU) countries intend to finance the access of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to alternatives to the Starlink satellite Internet system from billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX amid concerns about its shutdown. This was reported on March 13 by Euractiv with reference to the draft White Paper of the European Commission (EC).

"The EU should finance access to space services 'at the request of the Ukrainian armed forces,'" the article says.

According to the newspaper, EU governments and institutions have approached four European satellite communications companies to explore alternatives to Starlink.

At the same time, it is clarified that the French satellite company Eutelsat is currently the only European provider that has a satellite constellation in low Earth orbit offering a connection similar to Starlink.

It is noted that the EU should also cooperate with Kiev on the protection of space objects from cyber attacks.

The United States may disable Starlink in Ukraine. What you need to know

Earlier, on March 7, the Financial Times newspaper reported that EU government officials are looking for ways to provide Ukraine with an alternative to the Starlink satellite Internet system. According to the newspaper, European companies in the space industry are already negotiating on this issue. At the same time, it was noted that the possible replacement of American equipment with European equipment still "remains a difficult task."

At the same time, on March 6, Eutelsat CEO Eva Berneke said that the company could supply about 40 thousand satellite communication terminals to Ukraine. According to her, it will take several months to send the equipment. It was noted that the company has already sent a couple of thousand units to the Ukrainian territory for Internet access, but at the moment not all of them are connected to the Network.