Veon-owned Kyivstar struck a partnership with Elon Musk’s Starlink to introduce direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity to Ukraine, a move the operator claims provides further resilience during the country’s war with Russia.

Veon stated that after launching, Ukraine will become one of the first countries to have Starlink’s D2D service. It expects to offer SMS and OTT messaging functionality in Q4 2025, with plans to expand to voice and data in the future.

Kaan Terzioglu, CEO at Veon, said the announcement helps take its commitment to Ukraine’s connectivity to the next level, “exponentially amplifying the resilience of our services with satellite connectivity”.

Veon has committed to invest $1 billion to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction effort from 2023 through to 2027. It explained it has been focused on expanding 4G coverage to remote areas of the country and maintaining the resilience of connectivity and digital services during energy blackouts.

Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov added the operator was committed to “leaving no stone unturned to keep Ukraine connected”.

“Our collaboration with Starlink is a game-changer in our journey towards achieving our ‘LTE everywhere’ ambition,” he added.

Musk’s Starlink has also sent thousands of kits to Ukraine since the beginning of the war with Russia in 2022, which run as portable terminals to provide broadband connectivity in the country through its satellites.

The service has notably been used by Ukraine’s military.

Starlink’s most high-profile deal in the telecoms sector has been with T-Mobile US. The companies plan to bring D2D services to the US, although it is still unclear when it will launch.