Ukraine’s Expanding Satellite Intelligence Network: How Finland and Eastern Europe Are Reshaping Modern Warfare Surveillance

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has fundamentally transformed international cooperation in space-based intelligence, with Finland and Eastern European nations playing pivotal roles in establishing unprecedented satellite data-sharing arrangements.

These partnerships represent a significant shift in how democratic nations approach military intelligence sharing and highlight the critical importance of commercial space capabilities in modern warfare.

At the forefront of this cooperation stands Finland’s ICEYE, a commercial satellite company that has become Ukraine’s most significant space-based intelligence partner. In August 2022, ICEYE signed a groundbreaking contract with the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, providing Ukraine with exclusive control over one of its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites while granting access to the company’s entire constellation.

This partnership has proven remarkably effective in Ukraine’s military operations. ICEYE’s SAR satellites possess unique capabilities that traditional optical satellites cannot match. They can capture high-resolution images during darkness, through cloud cover, and in all weather conditions.

According to a 2024 Newsweek report, nearly two-fifths of the information gathered from Finland’s ICEYE satellites was used to directly prepare strikes against Russian forces, resulting in damage estimated in the billions of dollars. The report cites statements from Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR), which publicly credited ICEYE’s satellite imagery with enabling precision attacks on Russian military assets and infrastructure. GUR reported that ICEYE’s radar imagery helped identify thousands of targets — including airfields, air defense sites, oil depots, ammunition dumps, and naval facilities — with 38% of that intelligence directly contributing to operational strikes causing significant material losses for Russia.

The technology’s impact extends beyond simple surveillance. SAR data can reveal heat signatures from running engines, detect camouflaged vehicles, and map terrain changes caused by artillery strikes. For Ukrainian forces operating in challenging winter conditions in eastern Ukraine, this capability has provided a crucial tactical advantage.

The success of bilateral partnerships like Ukraine-ICEYE has catalyzed a much broader international initiative. In February 2023, eighteen Western nations signed a letter of intent establishing the Allied Persistent Surveillance from Space Initiative (APSS), a NATO-supported program designed to revolutionize intelligence sharing among democratic allies.

The APSS coalition includes key Eastern European nations such as Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania, alongside Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Sweden, the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. This represents the largest multinational space project in NATO’s history, with participating nations committing a total of $1 billion to the initiative.

The program, which became operational in 2025 under the codename “Aquila,” focuses on three primary objectives: sharing data from national surveillance satellites, jointly processing and analyzing intelligence data, and collectively funding the purchase of commercial satellite imagery and intelligence products. Luxembourg alone contributed €16.5 million to facilitate the program’s development, demonstrating the significant financial commitment behind this initiative.

The international coalition supporting Ukraine’s satellite intelligence capabilities has expanded beyond Europe. In April 2025, Japan made a historic decision to share synthetic aperture radar satellite images from its Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS) with Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known as the GUR. This marked the first time Japan has ever shared such sensitive geospatial intelligence with any foreign nation.

The Japanese contribution represents a significant technological leap, as iQPS operates some of the world’s most advanced lightweight SAR satellites. The agreement includes a two- to three-month timeline for integrating these systems into Ukrainian intelligence platforms, potentially reducing Ukraine’s reliance on Western providers and offering protection against future disruptions in U.S. or European support.

The Ukraine conflict has demonstrated how commercial satellite companies can serve as force multipliers in military operations. Unlike traditional government-operated intelligence satellites, commercial providers offer rapid deployment, frequent revisit capabilities, and the flexibility to adapt quickly to changing battlefield requirements.

ICEYE exemplifies this transformation, operating the world’s largest fleet of commercial SAR satellites with 21 spacecraft successfully launched to date. The company’s ability to deliver near-real-time intelligence has proven invaluable for Ukrainian forces planning operations, tracking Russian logistics routes, and identifying high-value targets.

Other commercial providers have also contributed to Ukraine’s intelligence capabilities, including American companies like Maxar, Planet, BlackSky, and Capella Space. However, the formal partnership arrangements with Finland and the broader APSS initiative represent a new level of institutional cooperation between democratic nations and commercial space providers.

The satellite intelligence cooperation surrounding Ukraine has established important precedents for future international security cooperation. The success of programs like APSS demonstrates that multinational intelligence sharing can be both technically feasible and strategically effective, even among nations with different military traditions and intelligence protocols.

For Ukraine specifically, these partnerships have created what essentially amounts to a private-sector national geospatial agency. The country now effectively can leverage dedicated satellite coverage without having developed its own space launch program. This could be a model that could prove attractive to other nations facing security challenges.

The cooperation also highlights the growing importance of space-based capabilities in modern warfare. As NATO Major General Paul Lynch noted in May 2025, “increased situational awareness in the space domain is absolutely essential for NATO allies,” reflecting how space has become integral to military planning and operations.

Despite the remarkable success of these partnerships, challenges remain. Russia has alleged that over 200 commercial satellites and 20 analytical centers from Western countries are providing intelligence products to Ukraine, indicating Moscow’s awareness of these capabilities and potential development of countermeasures.

Finland has already experienced increased satellite jamming since 2022, believed to originate from Russia, which has disrupted both civilian and military satellite services. Finnish researchers are now developing countermeasures to address this threat, highlighting the evolving nature of space-based conflicts.

The satellite data cooperation between Ukraine, Finland, and Eastern European nations represents a fundamental shift in how democratic nations approach intelligence sharing and space-based security cooperation. These partnerships have not only provided Ukraine with critical military advantages but have also established new models for international cooperation that may influence future security arrangements.

As the commercial space sector continues to expand and satellite technology becomes more accessible, the precedents set by these partnerships will likely shape how nations respond to security challenges in an increasingly connected and surveilled world.

The success of programs like ICEYE’s Ukraine partnership and the Allied Persistent Surveillance from Space Initiative demonstrates that the future of military intelligence may depend as much on international cooperation and commercial innovation as on traditional government capabilities.

See also, the following:

https://sldinfo.com/2025/08/eyes-in-the-sky-japans-historic-intelligence-leap/