US company denies Ukraine access to satellite imagery: is there a replacement?
7 March 2025 11:44
The American aerospace company Maxar Technologies has disconnected Ukraine from its commercial satellite service. This was reported by Militarnyi, citing several users of the platform who wished to remain anonymous, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Official reason and real circumstances
Users received a notification from Maxar ‘s administration about the disconnection due to an “administrative request,” but in fact the decision was the result of a ban by the US government. The administration of President Donald Trump, through the US Department of State, has imposed restrictions on the provision of satellite intelligence data to Ukraine. This decision applies to both government customers and private users.
The Ukrainian cyber community Cyberboroshno also reported on its Telegram channel that access to satellite intelligence had been restricted.
“The US has closed satellite intelligence, not only on Russia, but in general,”
– the channel said.
Although the message itself did not specify which services were involved, in the comments, community members confirmed that it was the Maxar Technologies service, which they had been actively using in their activities.
Читайте нас у Telegram: головні новини коротко
The importance of Maxar satellite imagery for Ukraine
Maxar Technologies was a key provider of satellite data for Ukraine, providing imagery used to:
- tracking the movement of Russian troops;
- assessing the impact of strikes on important targets in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia itself.
In addition, Maxar satellite imagery was actively used by the world’s leading media to illustrate and analyze the hostilities between Ukraine and Russia.
The United States has stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine
On March 5, it became known that the United States had decided to suspend intelligence sharing with Ukraine. This information was used for:
- launching strikes on strategic targets in Russia;
- targeting high-precision American weapons for strikes near the front line.
The next day, March 6, French Defense Minister Sebastian Le Coronneu said that France was ready to share its intelligence with Ukraine instead of the United States.
Alternatives for Ukraine
Today, Ukraine has several alternatives to obtain the necessary intelligence.
One of the key alternatives is to cooperate with the Finnish company ICEYE, which provides satellite imagery obtained with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) equipment. This technology allows satellites to capture high-precision images of the surface regardless of weather conditions and time of day.
Ukraine has access to at least two such satellites. The first was purchased in 2022 with funds raised by Ukrainians through the Serhiy Prytula Charitable Foundation. The second satellite was provided by the German defense company Rheinmetall, which expanded Ukraine’s satellite intelligence capabilities.
In addition, ICEYE allows the Ukrainian military to access images from more of its satellites, which enables it to obtain the necessary intelligence data quickly. Thanks to this, Ukraine partially retains the ability to monitor the movements of Russian troops, assess the results of strikes, and analyze the situation at the front.
