The Finnish companies Iceye and Nokia have signed a "Letter of Intent" with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to analyze new formulas for collaboration in the space field, as they detailed this Friday in a joint statement.
The central purpose of the document is to strengthen Ukrainian defensive capabilities by promoting sovereign satellite communications and an infrastructure under the control of the country.
The signing of this letter was made public on Thursday, coinciding with the official visit of the Prime Minister of Finland to Ukrainian territory.
Space cooperation and sovereign systems
Iceye and Nokia had recently announced a strategic alliance to create secure, sovereign, high-performance broadband satellite communication systems in low Earth orbit (LEO) aimed at governments. These solutions are designed to support missions ranging from defense and border control to emergency services and disaster management.
Supported by "trusted European technology," the satellite communication systems jointly developed by Iceye and Nokia will allow states to retain ownership and control of the satellites, the ground segment, and the terminals. The CEO and co-founder of Iceye, Rafal Modrzewski, has emphasized that Ukraine needs "secure, sovereign, and high-performance satellite communication systems over which it can maintain control."
"We have a proven track record in the rapid deployment of sovereign missions to help develop that capability," he added, stressing that the company "is proud to support Ukraine since 2022 -the year the war against Russia began- and maintains its commitment to continue doing so."
For his part, the head of geopolitics and government relations at Nokia Defense, Mikko Hautala, has emphasized that states require "communications they can trust in any situation."
"Satellite networks extend and protect connectivity when terrestrial networks are disrupted, making them a key element of any secure communication system," he explained, highlighting that, thanks to this agreement, "they will explore how sovereign and reliable satellite communications can strengthen Ukraine's resilience and provide it with control over the connectivity it depends on."
The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has emphasized that "modern warfare has shown that reliable communications are a matter of national security." "We must all be able to rely on capabilities that we can control and this letter represents an important step in this direction," he noted, before thanking Finland and the Finnish Prime Minister "for their constant support."
Finally, the Ukrainian leader has stressed that "they value partners who not only help Ukraine but also collaborate with them to build Europe's long-term security."