Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar has completed the country’s first field trial of SpaceX’s Starlink direct-to-cell satellite service, exchanging text messages over ordinary smartphones during a demonstration in the Zhytomyr region on 12 August. Kyivstar chief executive Oleksandr Komarov and digital transformation minister Mykhailo Fedorov took part in the test, which marks the maiden use of the technology in Eastern Europe. Starlink’s satellites carry cellular modems that behave like towers in orbit, beaming signals straight to handsets when terrestrial networks are damaged or out of range—an increasingly common scenario amid Russian strikes on Ukraine’s telecom infrastructure. Reliable connectivity is regarded by Kyiv as critical for both civilian life and battlefield coordination. Kyivstar and Starlink aim to launch commercial direct-to-cell messaging across Ukraine in the fourth quarter of 2025, with satellite mobile broadband slated for early 2026. Parent company VEON is also exploring complementary services through Amazon’s Project Kuiper, while Starlink has signed similar agreements with mobile operators in nine other countries.