US allies are accelerating plans to reduce reliance on SpaceX’s Starlink after Elon Musk abruptly limited Ukrainian access, stoking concern that a built‑in “kill switch” gives Musk unilateral power to disable a critical communications network. Poland, which helped fund Ukrainian use, publicly rebuked Musk after reported Starlink disruptions. Ukraine will join a satellite communications network run by Finland’s Iceye and Nokia as part of a €300m aid package announced Thursday. Canada’s Telesat ha

US allies are accelerating plans to reduce reliance on SpaceX’s Starlink after Elon Musk abruptly limited Ukrainian access, stoking concern that a built‑in “kill switch” gives Musk unilateral power to disable a critical communications network. Poland, which helped fund Ukrainian use, publicly rebuked Musk after reported Starlink disruptions. Ukraine will join a satellite communications network run by Finland’s Iceye and Nokia as part of a €300m aid package announced Thursday. Canada’s Telesat has pitched its Lightspeed LEO constellation as a more sovereign alternative. The EU has contracted Eutelsat and two partners to build IRIS², a 348‑satellite sovereign network costing about $17.5bn, with first launches slated for 2029.