25 July 2025
The Starlink satellite communication service from the American company SpaceX has experienced a global failure. The lack of communication was recorded, in particular, on the front line in Ukraine.
This was reported by a number of media outlets and the Ukrainian military, including the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdi.
The failure was not confined to Ukraine, as users around the world have reported communication problems. The official causes of the incident have not yet been disclosed, as well as the timeframe for troubleshooting.
SpaceX has confirmed that there were problems with the system and announced the launch of an investigation.
The Starlink system plays an important role in the management of Ukrainian troops on the front line and providing situational awareness to the command.
In addition, the company’s terminals are used to communicate with drones and provide stable communication for civilians in frontline areas.
Starlink satellite communications are also widely used on civilian ships, airliners, infrastructure and industrial facilities around the world.
Deployment of a Starlink antenna by the Ukrainian military. Photo credits: Reuters.
The reasons for the failure have not yet been named, but possible versions include a technical malfunction, an error in the operation of the equipment, or a hacker attack aimed at undermining global navigation and economic infrastructure.
European alternatives to Starlink
The European Union is in talks with four satellite internet operators to replace Starlink in the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Among the potential suppliers are Luxembourg’s SES, Spain’s Hisdesat, Britain’s Viasat, and the French-British Eutelsat/OneWeb.
A OneWeb terminal. Photo credits: bcsatellite
According to European Commission spokesperson Thomas Rainier, Ukraine is interested in switching to alternative communication systems, including Govsatcom, the EU’s unified network of national government satellite capacities.
The possibility of using the IRIS² satellite group is also being considered, but it is expected to be put into operation only in the 2030s.
So, while this system is a promising alternative, it is not suitable for rapid deployment in the event of a sudden Starlink outage.
Instead, Govsatcom should achieve initial operational readiness this year, but only as a temporary solution until IRIS² is fully operational.
“The official causes of the incident have not yet been disclosed”
It happened a day after Starlink-powered satellite service from T-Mobile rolled out to the public. Could be a bad software update related to that.
We will never find out the cause.