China develops its alternative to Starlink. It could support Russia

“Russia could end up dominating the skies over Ukraine. I say this openly to our colleagues in Europe and America,” Zelenskyy said in the YouTube video. He also appealed for Ukraine to be granted full access to Starlink. “The United States of America has this [technology]. It costs them nothing to help Ukraine. And I spoke frankly: Give it to us, help us protect the skies and dominate there.” According to Zelenskyy, once air superiority is achieved, Vladimir Putin will sit down at the negotiating table because “he would lose everything” in two or three months.

The Ukrainian President insisted that the negotiation process has not reached a “dead end”, as some may assume. He links the current halt in negotiations to a lack of willingness among Western partners.

Ukraine is currently lacking sufficient air defence capabilities. We constantly hear about Kyiv’s need for more interceptor missiles, like those used in Patriot systems. Without these, Russia can apply pressure on Ukraine by targeting civilian infrastructure, hoping that Kyiv concedes at the negotiating table. Zelenskyy has also been repeatedly asking American President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russian and Chinese companies that are reportedly involved in the process of developing the Rassvet satellite network. Zelenskyy notes that, if unimpeded, Rassvet could become operational by “the end of the year or the beginning of next year”.