Finnish space company ICEYE and Nokia have signed a Letter of Intent with Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence to explore cooperation in space, with a focus on building sovereign satellite communications for Ukraine.

The companies said the shared intent was announced, during the Finnish Prime Minister’s visit to Ukraine. A letter of intent signals what the parties plan to explore. It is not a contract, and the announcement does not say what will be built, when or at what cost.

The move builds on a partnership ICEYE and Nokia announced earlier this month to develop secure, sovereign, high-performance broadband low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications systems for governments. The companies say such systems could support missions from defence and border security to emergency services and disaster response. They say the jointly developed systems would give countries ownership and control of the satellites, the ground segment and the terminals, built on European technology.

“Ukraine needs secure, sovereign and high-performance satellite communications systems that it controls,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and co-founder of ICEYE. “ICEYE has proudly supported Ukraine since 2022, and we remain committed to continuing that support today.”

Mikko Hautala, Nokia’s Chief Geopolitical & Government Relations Officer and Chairman of Nokia Defense, said satellite networks “extend and protect connectivity when networks on the ground are disrupted.” Through the letter, he said, the companies will “explore how trusted, sovereign satellite communications can strengthen Ukraine’s resilience and give it control over the connectivity it depends on.”

The announcement gives no financial terms, timeline, funding source or technical specifications, and it carries no statement from Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence. The system described is still a plan, and the companies’ claims about it were not independently verified.