Kyivstar’s deal with Elon Musk’s company to make cell service in Ukraine ‘uninterrupted’
Source: Kyivstar
Ukraine’s largest telecoms operator, Kyivstar, will introduce direct-to-cell services in 2025 after it signed a deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink, according to a statement from its parent company VEON on Monday.
This cutting-edge technology will provide reliable mobile communication, especially in the regions where terrestrial networks are often disrupted.
Kyivstar plans to roll out the first phase of Direct to Cell services by Q4 2025, starting with SMS and OTT messaging capabilities. The next phase will introduce voice calls and data transfer, further enhancing connectivity across the country.
The company hailed the deal that can help bolster Ukraine’s telecommunications infrastructure after it has faced unprecedented challenges amid Russia’s invasion. Kyivstar has already made substantial investments in 4G expansion, spectrum enhancements, and energy independence, ensuring a resilient network for its users.
VEON echoed the sentiment, saying that the partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink is pivotal for deploying groundbreaking technologies in underserved areas. Since 2013, VEON has invested over $10 billion in Ukraine’s infrastructure and plans an additional $1 billion for digital network restoration between 2023 and 2027.
According to VEON representatives, Starlink’s Direct to Cell technology will play a crucial role in achieving Kyivstar’s mission: delivering stable, nationwide communication access, even in the most remote parts of Ukraine.
In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.
Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.
Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
In recent days, Moscow’s official rhetoric has been dominated by hysteria over the decision of…
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.