ICEYE, Nokia, and Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence signed a letter of intent on October 22, 2026, to explore sovereign satellite communications for Ukraine. Announced during the Finnish prime minister’s visit, the agreement identifies communications under national control as a focus of cooperation.
The agreement brings Ukraine into discussions about a system that ICEYE and Nokia announced earlier in October. It establishes an intention to cooperate, rather than an order for a specified satellite network. The announcement contains no Ukrainian procurement value, satellite count, or delivery timetable.
The companies’ October 1 partnership describes broadband networks in low Earth orbit that government customers would own and operate. Their proposed offering includes satellites, ground infrastructure, and ruggedized user terminals. ICEYE contributes experience delivering national satellite missions, and Nokia contributes secure networking expertise.
Ownership across those components determines more than who holds the spacecraft. Ground infrastructure handles network operations and connections to other communications systems; terminals provide the equipment through which users access the service. National control of the complete system would give the customer responsibility for these elements together, rather than access only to purchased capacity.
New Space Economy’s examination of sovereign LEO networks distinguishes ownership from other arrangements, including dedicated capacity within an operator’s network. That distinction is relevant to the Ukrainian discussions because the companies explicitly propose customer ownership and control of satellites, ground systems, and terminals.
The proposed networks would concentrate capacity over priority mission areas. ICEYE and Nokia describe them as additional infrastructure working alongside military and commercial networks, with applications extending from defense and border security to emergency response. Satellite connections can provide an additional route for information when local terrestrial infrastructure is disrupted.
The companies expect their first communications satellites to launch in 2028. That date applies to the broader development partnership; the October 22 agreement does not assign Ukraine a corresponding deployment date.
In the announcement published by Nokia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy linked the agreement to the ability to control communications used for national security. Nokia’s Mikko Hautala described the next activity as exploring how sovereign satellite communications could strengthen Ukraine’s connectivity. The immediate work is the development of that cooperation, covering a proposed communications system whose ownership model extends from orbit to the equipment used on the ground.
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