Zaluzhny on the risks of Ukraine’s orbital war with Russia: we are too dependent
6 October 13:25
In modern warfare, space has become an integral battlefield where satellite data, communications and intelligence determine victory or defeat. Ukraine, which has been confronting Russian aggression for more than three years, has experienced this reality acutely: from precision HIMARS strikes guided by images from Maxar and Planet Labs to critical communications via Starlink that saved the front in the darkest moments. This dependence on Western partners, both governmental and commercial, provided tactical advantages, but also exposed vulnerabilities. This is what Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ambassador to the UK, warns about in his column on the Militarnyi website, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Zaluzhny emphasizes that it is impossible to imagine modern armed struggle without space services:
“Our war was the first major military confrontation in which space technologies played and continue to play a decisive role. Therefore, the creation of such a center was not only obvious in terms of utilizing opportunities, but also a necessity to create an asymmetry in relation to Russia.”
Training and organization of space support
Zaluzhnyi notes that the increased flow of information and the need for its rapid distribution have revealed a new problem: training:
“Practical acquisition of skills also takes time, but by the end of 2023 we managed to prepare a sufficient number of trained personnel both in the center and in the operational link.”
An important element of success was the equipment and software that ensured the delivery of space-based information directly to the battlefield and modern weapons.
Central Space Support Directorate
Through the use of satellite technologies, both military and civilian, the center has become a key body that transforms data from space into combat solutions.
“The Central Space Support Directorate, having received a tool in the form of using both military and civilian satellite technologies and access to software, has essentially become a key body that transforms data from space into specific combat decisions and, accordingly, provides a strategic advantage, especially in delivering precision strikes against the enemy,” Zaluzhnyi explains.
At the same time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine received the function of its own intelligence support, but temporarily due to the lack of its own satellite group.
Using commercial infrastructure
In the absence of its own space systems, Ukraine was forced to use the capabilities of its partners.
“Not having our own military satellite group, we timely used commercial space infrastructure, in particular SpaceX’s Starlink for communications, and Earth observation satellites such as Maxar, Planet Labs, and ICEYE for real-time intelligence,” Zaluzhnyi said.
However, dependence on foreign resources creates risks: the global Starlink outage in 2025 and the restrictions on satellite data transmission by partners have demonstrated Ukraine’s critical vulnerability.
Problems and technological lag
However, almost a year and a half of work trying to build an effective system of intelligence support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and space support has also revealed a number of problems that have remained a heavy burden in the warring country.
“The main one is that we found and learned to use the capabilities we found in a timely manner, but we had no capabilities of our own. Our country, which was once among the five space powers in the world, is now lagging behind in the rocket and space industry, to put it mildly. Even SpaceX’s modern military space infrastructure has been constantly influenced by Russia and forced to adapt effectively,” Zaluzhny emphasizes.
He explained why it makes no sense to talk about adapting our own space infrastructure.
“Such a space infrastructure should include rocket launch systems, orbital objects, ground facilities, and regulatory mechanisms. It is this infrastructure that ensures telecommunications, navigation, intelligence, and, as a result, national security. Thus, the absence of any of these elements leads either to the creation and use of own capabilities or to the use of others. All of this has revealed a huge problem of dependence on partner countries and the political situation in them,” Zaluzhnyi said.
Security and threats
Zaluzhnyi also draws attention to threats to national security, as the ban or resumption of satellite data transmission may affect timely warning of missile launches.
“We have already seen first the ban and then the resumption of the transmission of intelligence, primarily satellite information from our partners. This may be acceptable when planning missile strikes, where neither the result nor the impact on the strike is known in order to plan the next strike, but it is completely unacceptable when it comes to warning about the takeoff of strategic aircraft or missile launches,” he emphasizes.
Zaluzhnyi recalled how in March 2025, for the first time, there was a massive global failure in the Starlink communication system, and on September 15, 2025, Starlink temporarily went down along the entire front line. All this demonstrated our glaring vulnerability.
According to him, another crucial indicator of technological lag and dependence in the field of space technology was the Russian attack on the city of Dnipro with the Oreshnyk ballistic missile in November 2024. This type of weapon is designed to deliver both nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles in conventional equipment. To neutralize such a threat, it is necessary to have either a similar system or a system that detects the launch of such a missile, calculates its trajectory and determines the area of destruction, and finally, a long-range missile defense system.
All this, due to the lack of advanced rocket and space technologies today, of course, requires at least a decision on what to do next.
“Probably, today space should become another domain where we need to achieve key technological changes as soon as possible. We have already found these solutions on the ground, in the air and on the water – I don’t want to describe how. It’s time to look at space, because the only way to achieve the required level of security today is to have technological advantages in all domains,” Zaluzhnyi said.
Prospects: creation of Space Forces
The decision to create the Space Forces by December 31, 2025, by the government of Ukraine is relevant and necessary.
“It is very good that the war itself, its high-tech nature, and even more so, future security threats finally dictate the need for immediate development of national aerospace technologies and capabilities as a key element of our country’s defense capability,” emphasizes Zaluzhnyi.
The formation of the Space Forces requires a systematic approach: from the creation of our own satellite groups to the development of the regulatory framework, personnel and international cooperation.
