Ukraine successfully tests Starlink's direct-to-cell technology
The pilot test took place in the Zhytomyr region using Starlink's direct-to-cell technology, Kyivstar said, with its CEO Oleksandr Komarov and Ukraine's digital transformation minister Mykhailo Fedorov exchanging messages via regular smartphones.
Direct-to-cell satellite technology aims to provide reliable connectivity when terrestrial networks are unavailable, a critical asset for war-torn Ukraine where Russian attacks on infrastructure regularly disrupt communications.
Satellites used for this service are equipped with advanced cellular modems that function like cell towers in space, beaming signals directly to smartphones on the ground.
Telecom providers around the world are turning to satellite technology in an effort to erase dead zones, particularly in remote areas where terrestrial networks are either too expensive to deploy or face significant geographical challenges.
Space X-owned Starlink has signed deals with telcos in 10 countries for a direct-to-cell service, with Kyivstar set to become the first operator in Europe to roll it out.
Kyivstar and Starlink plan to commercially launch direct-to-cell connectivity in the fourth quarter of 2025, starting with messaging services.
Mobile satellite broadband data is planned to be made available to a wider audience at the beginning of 2026, Komarov told Reuters in July.
VEON, which owns Kyivstar, is also in talks with other providers, including Amazon's Project Kuiper, to expand its satellite services for mobile devices beyond Ukraine.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Global markets face shaky week ahead as US pressure mounts on Ukraine
LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Defence stocks and energy markets are likely to be in focus this week, as European leaders rushed to back Ukraine in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump that may pressure Kyiv to accept a peace deal favouring Russia. Investors are watching for signs that the U.S. may move closer to Russia in a bid to exploit vast, untapped Arctic energy resources, in a major geopolitical shift that piles pressure on Europe to rapidly boost defence spending. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended their weekend summit in Alaska without securing a Ukraine ceasefire agreement, with the U.S. President then saying he now wanted a rapid peace deal that Kyiv should accept. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is travelling to Washington on Monday for talks that leaders of nations including Germany, the UK and France will now join. "Trump seems inclined to reduce or even end US support for Ukraine. Putin got him interested in business deals," Berenberg Chief Economist Holger Schmieding said in a note to clients. "As a result, the US may lift its sanctions on Russia and invest in Russia instead," he added. "Europe will have to spend a lot more for its own defence." Investors have bet on that outcome since February 2022, driving a supercharged rally in European aerospace and defence stocks (.SXPARO), opens new tab with gains of over 600% for Leonardo ( opens new tab and 1,500% for Germany's Rheinmetall ( opens new tab. The euro has rallied 13% against the dollar this year and traded at about $1.17 on Friday. Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett highlighted the potential for U.S.-Russia Arctic drilling projects to exploit 15% of the world's undiscovered oil and 30% of the world's undiscovered natural gas, resulting in a deep energy bear market. Brent crude, which dropped more than 1% to near $66 a barrel, on Friday, was still priced for a Ukraine peace deal, Hartnett cautioned, while Trump wanted lower energy prices for U.S. consumers . Ukraine's government bonds - key mood indicators - rallied when news of the summit emerged earlier this month but have stalled at a still-distressed 55 cents per dollar. "I would think they will be a bit weaker following the recent strength as the mood seems to favour Russia following Friday's summit," Aegon Asset Management head of emerging market debt Jeff Grills said.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Putin won in Anchorage. Now Zelenskyy and Europe are in an even more perilous position
Donald Trump portrays himself as a hard-nosed dealmaker. Yet in the run-up to Friday's summit with Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, his claim that the Russian leader held him in high regard and was therefore serious about ending the war in Ukraine sounded naive. Putin doesn't let sentimentality shape his political and military decisions. Nor has he disavowed his longstanding claim to four Ukrainian provinces: Donetsk and Luhansk, which together comprise Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south. Despite Russia's overwhelming numerical advantage in troops and weaponry, Putin occupies only one province, Luhansk, almost entirely. Yet he persists. In the days before his meeting with Putin, Trump said the Russian economy 'stinks' and that falling oil prices would cause Russia's war to run aground. The war has certainly placed severe strains on Russia's economy, including high inflation and interest rates, labour shortages and a lack of investment by private businesses. Earnings from oil sales, a key source of state income, have also shrunk by 18% this year due to falling prices. There has even been talk of a recession. But these pressures have not prompted Putin to reassess his war plans. He ignored Trump's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accepted right away. Likewise, he was unfazed by Trump's threats to impose additional sanctions – with 'severe consequences', as he put it just before the summit – if Russia did not relent. Trump returned from Anchorage empty-handed for other reasons. Successful summits require painstaking advance work by leaders' subordinates; this one was arranged in haste. Given the rush, it was unsurprising that the Anchorage talks ended hours ahead of time. (The working lunch the two delegations were to have was cancelled.) During his post-summit press conference, Trump gamely praised Putin's goodwill and said that they had agreed on 'many points' during discussions that he described as 'productive'. Yet he failed to identify a single point of agreement and, atypically, didn't stay to answer reporters' questions. Putin came out ahead in Anchorage. He didn't agree to Trump's pet proposal for a ceasefire. It was Trump who ended up accepting Putin's position that a ceasefire must be preceded by a comprehensive peace agreement that addresses the 'root causes' of the war. Putin did show some flexibility by agreeing to freeze the frontline if Ukraine were to withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk, and thus the entire Donbas, enabling Russia to acquire lands it has failed to conquer despite more than 40 months of fighting. Yet this offer could prove to be a trap. If Zelenskyy, who arrives in Washington for talks with Trump on Monday, refuses to do this, Putin may be able to look on as Trump tries to coerce the Ukrainian leader, forcing Europe to take sides. If Trump fails, Putin can paint Zelenskyy as the real obstacle to peace. Trump had declared that there would be no future talks if the summit failed – which it did, as he couldn't obtain a ceasefire, his main objective – yet in Anchorage, he spoke of follow-up meetings. Putin concurred, mischievously suggesting Moscow as the venue, but without indicating that he was open to including Zelenskyy and European leaders. By agreeing to further negotiations and keeping Trump's hopes for a peace deal alive, Putin may have ensured that the efficacy of additional US sanctions on Russia remains untested. By simply showing up in Anchorage, Putin demonstrated that the western policy of isolating him won't work. Zelenskyy and European leaders are undoubtedly relieved that the duo didn't unveil a deal to end the war by partitioning Ukraine. Still, Trump's readiness to accept Putin's insistence on this bilateral meeting after US efforts to include Zelenskyy failed had already sown more mistrust between Washington and Europe. Now Trump has embraced Putin's view that there can be no ceasefire without an overall agreement that addresses all aspects of the conflict. He has also in effect endorsed Putin's call for Ukraine to cede Donbas in exchange for a freeze of the frontline. These shifts will increase Ukraine and Europe's distrust of Trump – to Putin's advantage. Putin's confidence in Russia's eventual victory has been bolstered by Trump's decision, taken well before the summit, to cease direct weapons deliveries to Ukraine – assistance that totalled $65.9bn while Joe Biden was the US president. Russia will continue bombing Ukraine's cities, and its ground troops will keep pushing to grab even more land. In this respect, the summit has changed nothing. What has changed since Trump's return to the White House, though, is the US's role in the war. Ultimately, Trump believes that Russia's invasion does not threaten the US so it's up to the Europeans to support Ukraine's defence, a point JD Vance reiterated shortly before the summit. European countries have been increasing its defence spending and military support to Ukraine. But it had better be prepared to do even more and summon the unity to stay the course. Meanwhile, the lure of additional talks with Putin will keep alive Trump's illusion that continued diplomatic engagement with Russia and his self-proclaimed deal-making skills will eventually end the war – clearing the path to the Nobel peace prize he covets. Rajan Menon is a professor emeritus of international relations at the City College of New York and a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
The Independent
14 hours ago
- The Independent
Trump rows back threat of ‘secondary tariffs' against India and China after Putin summit
US president Donald Trump has played down the prospect of imposing so-called 'secondary tariffs' on buyers of Russian oil after his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Trump had proposed the levies as a new way of pressuring Russia's war-time economy if it failed to stop its invasion of Ukraine, and they were largely due to impact China and India, by far the two biggest buyers of Russian crude. Mr Trump earlier this month doubled duties on Indian products to 50 per cent after imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff for buying Russian oil, kicking off from 27 August. New Delhi was facing the risk of even higher tariffs if Mr Trump's summit in Alaska failed to end Russia's war in Ukraine after the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that 'secondary tariffs could go up' if things don't go well at the meeting. In recent days, Mr Trump has expressed his anger with India for its refusal to stop buying oil from Russia. He has accused India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine by purchasing discounted crude from Moscow. China remains the largest market for Russian oil exports. However, raising tariffs on Beijing threatens to break a delicate truce deal between China and the US after it was extended for another 90 days. The truce saw both countries lowering tariffs on each other's goods after the trade war between the two biggest economies threatened to upend global markets. On board Air Force One on his way to meet Mr Putin in Alaska, Mr Trump still appeared undecided on whether he would impose secondary tariffs or not, saying they would be 'very devastating' for China in particular and suggesting Russia had already 'lost an oil client' in India. ''If I have to do it, I'll do it. Maybe I won't have to do it,' he said. After the nearly three-hour-long meeting with Mr Putin, Mr Trump hailed the Alaska summit as a 'great and very successful day' although 'we didn't get there' on agreeing an immediate ceasefire. He instead endorsed Russia's longstanding position – that Kyiv and Moscow would need to agree a full peace deal while fighting continued in the background. And in a post-summit interview with Hannity, Mr Trump said he would hold off on imposing secondary tariffs on China for buying Russian oil after making progress with Mr Putin. He did not mention India directly. "Because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that now," Mr Trump said of the tariffs. "I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now." India has previously said that it needs Russian oil to meet the energy needs of its fast-growing economy. The country has been sourcing nearly a third of its oil from Russia since the Ukraine war began in early 2022 and Moscow started offering it at a discounted rate. New Delhi has decried the double standards of the US sanctioning its oil purchases while continuing to buy Russian uranium hexafluoride, palladium and fertiliser. Narendra Modi's government called the US tariffs "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable" and vowed to "take all actions necessary to protect its national interests'.
