by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukraine is appealing for expanded access to Western satellite technology to help locate and destroy Russian missile launchers and other military targets as relentless Russian drone and missile attacks have killed dozens of civilians within two days, exposing growing shortages in Kyiv’s air defenses.
The appeal gained urgency Friday after Russian drones struck a shopping center in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least 14 people and injuring about 100, including children, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Zelenskyy said the drones came in two waves, with the second strike about half an hour after the first, when emergency workers were responding to the blaze. He condemned the attack as an act of “terror” and again urged other nations to increase pressure on Moscow.
The deaths followed a massive Russian missile and drone barrage against Kyiv killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more, according to authorities. Zelenskyy said more than 200 sites were damaged, including 86 residential buildings, a children’s hospital and other civilian infrastructure.
ATTACK NEAR MOLDOVA
Another Russian drone attack struck a border crossing between Ukraine and neighboring Moldova, forcing authorities to suspend traffic at the Tabaky crossing and divert vehicles to other checkpoints. Ukrainian border authorities said Moldova had been informed of the attack.
The incident followed several recent cases in which drones or their debris reportedly entered or crashed in Moldova and NATO-member Romania, underscoring concerns that Russia’s expanding aerial campaign could have consequences beyond Ukraine’s borders.
With Ukraine facing shortages of U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles capable of destroying Russian ballistic missiles, Kyiv is increasingly seeking ways to strike the weapons before they are launched.
The British business newspaper Financial Times reported that Ukraine wants billionaire Elon Musk to allow the use of his SpaceX Starlink satellite network aboard long-range Ukrainian drones targeting Russian ballistic-missile launchers and other military sites as far as 200 kilometers (124 miles) inside Russia.
SATELLITES AGAINST MISSILES
Starlink connections could allow Ukrainian drones to maintain communications over longer distances and make them less vulnerable to Russian electronic warfare than systems relying on conventional radio links.
Kyiv views such capabilities as increasingly important because Patriot interceptors remain scarce as Russia intensifies attacks involving ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
Zelenskyy has stressed that Ukraine is prepared to pay for additional air-defense ammunition rather than receive it as a gift, saying only Ukraine’s allies can provide the Patriot missiles it urgently needs.
A Rotterdam-based Dutch company says Ukrainian forces are already using another significant advance in satellite warfare: access to rapidly updated commercial satellite imagery directly at the tactical level.
ROTTERDAM SATELLITE BREAKTHROUGH
Bravo1Alpha says its Close Satellite Support, or CSS, system can deliver high-resolution commercial satellite imagery to a soldier’s battlefield device or laptop in as little as 15 minutes after collection—dramatically shortening a process that previously could take days.
The company developed the capability with spatial-intelligence provider Vantor, allowing frontline operators to access satellite imagery, compare it with earlier images and use highly accurate three-dimensional (3D) terrain data for tactical decisions.
The 3D technology essentially creates a detailed digital model of the battlefield, showing not just where objects are located but also the height, shape and contours of buildings, hills and other terrain. That can help troops assess lines of sight, identify possible hiding places and better understand how forces or weapons are positioned.
Bravo1Alpha says the technology has been field-tested and operationally validated in Ukraine.
SEEING THE BATTLEFIELD
Stef Have, a former Apache helicopter pilot and one of the people behind Bravo1Alpha, described the development as a “gamechanger,” saying the system dramatically reduces the time between satellite observation and military action by bringing space-based intelligence directly to frontline units rather than requiring information to move through multiple command levels.
Have said that when he flew Apache attack helicopters, he sometimes had to rely on satellite imagery that was a day old, leaving crews uncertain whether the targets or people identified in the images would still be there when they arrived.
Commercial satellites can also overcome some limitations faced by reconnaissance drones, which can be jammed, shot down, restricted by range or hampered by weather conditions.
Satellites can cover much larger areas, and imagery taken at different times can be compared to identify changes and patterns of activity.
AI ANALYZES IMAGES
Combined with artificial intelligence, experts can compare images to detect vehicle tracks leading into forests, troop movements, ammunition storage sites and other changes that might otherwise be difficult to identify.
The technology could allow Ukrainian forces to locate Russian units or other targets far behind the frontline without first sending reconnaissance drones into heavily defended airspace.
The ability to receive imagery that can be only minutes old therefore represents a significant change for Ukrainian troops seeking to locate mobile Russian forces and other military targets before they move.
Ukraine’s request concerning Starlink would take satellite-supported warfare another step by helping long-range drones attack launchers and other military targets on Russian territory.
TAKING FIGHT TO SOURCE
Musk has previously restricted the geographical use of Starlink, reflecting concerns about the system becoming directly involved in Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia.
Zelenskyy reportedly raised the issue during a July meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, asking him to approach Musk about expanding Starlink access for Ukrainian long-range operations.
The Financial Times reported that Trump appeared reluctant to support the proposal and believed Musk was unlikely to approve it.
The effort has also been complicated by the dismissal in July of former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who developed relationships with U.S. technology companies and played an important role in securing Starlink services for Ukraine.
CIVILIAN DEATHS MOUNT
The technological push comes as civilian casualties from Russian attacks continue rising.
Russian forces launched another 135 drones against Ukraine overnight into Friday, with Ukrainian forces saying they intercepted or suppressed 107.
Two women, aged 66 and 73, were killed when Russian drones struck the village of Lebyazhe in the Kharkiv region, while two other people were wounded. Five homes caught fire, three were destroyed and numerous other houses were damaged, local authorities said.
The United Nations monitoring mission in Ukraine recently reported that at least 437 civilians were killed in July, the highest monthly civilian death toll since May 2022.
MASSIVE AERIAL BARRAGES
The mounting casualties come as Russia continues launching large combinations of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles that Ukrainian officials say are designed in part to overwhelm the country’s limited air defenses.
Ukraine has responded with increasingly large drone attacks against targets inside Russia. Moscow said its air defenses intercepted 325 Ukrainian drones in the latest wave, while several airports serving the Russian capital temporarily suspended operations.
A Russian oil refinery in the Perm region, roughly 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) northeast of Moscow, was also reportedly struck.
Ukraine has stepped up attacks against Russian oil infrastructure in recent months in an attempt to reduce revenues and supplies supporting Moscow’s war effort.
UKRAINE STRIKES BACK
The strikes have contributed to reported fuel shortages in parts of Russia, with some filling stations running out of fuel or rationing supplies.
Yet Kyiv maintains that the mounting civilian toll shows Ukraine needs both additional Patriot interceptors and expanded satellite capabilities to detect Russian forces and attack missile systems before they can be launched.
The growing reliance on satellite technology underscores how the conflict is increasingly being fought not only with missiles and drones but also through commercial networks orbiting hundreds of kilometers above the battlefield.
For Ukraine, the combination of rapidly updated battlefield imagery and satellite-connected long-range drones could increasingly allow its forces to find Russian weapons before they fire rather than trying to stop them after they are already heading toward Ukrainian cities.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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