US State Department greenlights Starlink, Patriot sales to Ukraine
September 1, 2025
The question of the continuation of US military aid and sales was called into question in early 2025, but now Reuters has reported the US State Department has approved the potential sale of Starlink service and related equipment and Patriot air defence sustainment to Ukraine.
Potential sale of Starlink service to Ukraine
According to Reuters, the Starlink deal is worth $150 million. The system not only allows Ukraine to maintain communications with its forces on the battlefield, but it is also critical for the control of Ukraine’s drones. Those drones are now the backbone of Ukraine’s behind-the-line strikes on Russian forces.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, SpaceX’s Starlink was just starting to roll out around the world. Starlink services had only been available in the US since late 2020 and had been extended to Canada in 2021. Ukraine was hurriedly added to the network, and it proved vital in helping Ukraine maintain contact with its forces in the chaotic early days of the war.
Starlink was one of the first forms of US aid to Ukraine. For a long time now, Poland has been the biggest donor of SpaceX satellite internet devices to Ukraine. Poland is funding over 30,000 Starlink internet systems in Ukraine, although continued Polish funding has been called into question after the Polish president recently vetoed an aid package bill for Ukraine.
While there are European analogs to Starlink (notably France’s Eutelsat), none come close to matching it. Leading EU aerospace companies are in talks concerning a possible merger of their satellite businesses to better compete with SpaceX.
Potential sale of Patriots to Ukraine
Most of the Patriot SAMs supplied to Ukraine have been supplied by European allies. However, these systems still depend on the United States for sustainment, and the latest US approval includes the sale of $179 million worth of Patriot sustainment.
Patriot air defence systems have proved formidable at protecting key Ukrainian sites from Russian ballistic missiles and preventing the Russian Air Force from launching raids beyond the frontline. Issues include the scarcity of Patriot interceptor missiles and batteries.
According to the open-source Orxy blog, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and Romania have pledged or supplied 6 Patriot batteries and 11 Patriot launchers. The United States has supplied three Patriot batteries and co-financed the one donated by Romania.
Fighter jets donated to Ukraine
In 2022, Ukraine’s air force was made up of legacy Soviet aircraft. Many of these aircraft were destroyed in the first days of the invasion, and many more have been attrited since. Even so, Ukraine is still operating legacy, worn-out Soviet fighter jets.
Initially, Western efforts were focused on sustaining Ukraine’s legacy platforms and retrofitting them to carry Western munitions. Indeed, in August 2025, Ukraine’s old Soviet Su-27 Flankers were seen carrying US-made ADM-160 Miniature Air Launched Decoys (MALDs).
Now the effort is focused on transitioning Ukraine’s air force to Western fighter jets. While the US has not supplied any functional fighter jets, it plays a critical role in the sustainment and munitions supplied to keep Ukraine’s European-donated F-16 Fighting Falcons operating.
According to the Oryx blog, Poland and Slovakia supplied 24 older MiG-29 fighter jets while Macedonia supplied four ground-attack Su-25s. Ukraine has received two types of Western fighter jets, the F-16 and Mirage 2000-5.
The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway have pledged or supplied 87 F-16s, and, according to AeroTime, France is increasing its pledge from 10 to 20 Mirages. Some of these fighter jets are not operational and have been delivered for parts, while others are kept back for training.
