Ukraine no longer wants to depend on one company in space. It has discussed and is weighing cooperation with Turkiye on satellite technology, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with CNN Türk, days after he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkiye.

Satellite links are now central to how Ukraine fights, carrying its drones, communications and reconnaissance, and most of that runs on Elon Musk’s Starlink. Last month, a slowdown of Starlink and its military version disrupted operations on the front line and cost civilian lives. It demonstrated how much of Ukraine’s war depends on a single firm it does not control, pushing Kyiv to build or share the technology itself.

A satellite partnership with Turkiye, still at the talking stage

Asked after his official meetings in Turkiye whether joint production or technology development with Ankara was on the table, including in satellites, Zelenskyy said the idea is being explored but is far from settled.

“We will work in this area too. This question was also discussed and considered. You will agree, this is not a simple matter,” Zelenskyy emphasized.

He had met Erdogan in Turkiye on 1 November, one of a run of talks between the two leaders as Ankara positions itself as a go-between in the war.

Why Ukraine wants its own technology in space

Zelenskyy tied the push to security, saying both countries need technology they own rather than borrow.

“For both states, security is of great importance. Without our own developments, without our own technologies, including in the space sphere, it is hard for us to move forward,” Zelenskyy said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence published the names of 49 Russian and Belarusian companies and institutions building Rassvet, Russia’s low-orbit satellite internet system for military purposes. Russia launched its first 16 Rassvet satellites earlier this year. Stable communications would need 200–250 in orbit, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, adviser to Zelenskyy, said in May.