# Ukraine is starting Starshield contract talks, Breaking Defense reports Ukraine's chargé d'affaires says Kyiv needs a new deal before its contract expires in mid-2027 and sees no effective alternative to the network, Breaking Defense reports. Published 2026-11-05 by TGOs. Canonical: https://tgos.io/news/2026/11/05/ukraine-is-starting-starshield-contract-talks-breaking-defense-reports/ Ukraine is working on a new Starshield deal with the United States before its current contract expires in mid-2027, Breaking Defense reported Nov. 5.[1] Kyiv is also considering possible stopgap measures.[1] Ukraine has relied on Starshield, the U.S. military variant of SpaceX's Starlink satellite network, for drone operations.[1] Ukraine's chargé d'affaires, Denys Sienik, said the country needs the new contract because it has “no effective alternative” to the low-Earth orbit satellite system.[1] Sienik told a Defense Writers Group breakfast that day that Kyiv was “in the process of starting” negotiations with leaders at the Department of War.[1] He expressed hope that a contract would be signed, terms of reference negotiated and funding secured.[1] In October, Ukrainian officials claimed a sudden network change caused failures of drones and defenses that led to military and civilian deaths.[1] Sienik said the problem had been resolved and the network was working again, but Ukraine still had no explanation from the Pentagon or SpaceX about what happened.[1] ## Why it matters Ukraine is exploring short- and long-term options and working on domestic capabilities, Sienik said, Breaking Defense reported.[1] He said Europeans were also working on their own system.[1] ## Sources 1. Breaking Defense: Ukraine eyeing new SpaceX Starshield deal by mid-2027, still no answers about October problems