ICEYE and Nokia Team Up to Help Ukraine Build Satellite Networ

A Letter of Intent With Kyiv
Nokia, the telecom giant, and ICEYE, which focuses on radar satellite technology, announced in a joint statement on Thursday that they had signed a letter of intent with Ukraine's defense ministry. The agreement aims to back Kyiv's defense and satellite communication capabilities while Russia's war continues.

The news follows another announcement from earlier this month. The two companies revealed then that they were partnering on low Earth orbit satellite communications services for governments and the defense sector, an effort meant to strengthen European tech sovereignty.

ICEYE's Polish CEO and co-founder, Rafał Modrzewski, said Ukraine needs secure, sovereign and high-performance satellite systems that it controls itself. He added that ICEYE has supported the country since 2022 and plans to keep doing so.

Mikko Hautala, Nokia's Chief Geopolitical and Government Relations Officer, explained why this matters. Satellite networks, he said, are a vital part of secure communications because they keep people connected when ground-based networks go down. Nokia and ICEYE will look at how trusted, sovereign satellite links can make Ukraine more resilient and put the country in charge of the connectivity it relies on.

Why Starlink Is Under Scrutiny
The timing is no accident. Starlink, the satellite system owned by US tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, has been a lifeline for Ukraine in its fight against Russian attacks. Ukraine's armed forces have often leaned on it for battlefield communication.

Still, it has never been a problem-free arrangement. The service has reportedly suffered coverage drops more than once during the war, and Musk has several times threatened to switch it off.

The latest trouble came earlier this month, when Ukrainian officials said services from Starshield, the military version of Starlink, were sharply limited. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that "people will die" as a result. The cut in connectivity arrived as relations between Kyiv and Washington worsened, following the White House's announcement earlier this month that Russia would be allowed to sell diesel to global markets.