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Italy to give Ukraine access to military radar satellites for imaging over its own territory
Italy plans to let Ukraine use imagery from two Cosmo‑SkyMed military radar satellites as part of its 13th aid package, with access reportedly restricted to Ukrainian territory, bolstering Kyiv’s all‑weather battlefield view without extending surveillance into Russia.
Ukraine is set to gain sharper satellite eyes over its own war zone as Italy prepares a new element in its military aid package.
Italian media reports say Rome’s 13th aid package to Kyiv will grant access to data from two Cosmo‑SkyMed military radar satellites. The access is described as limited to Ukrainian territory, so Ukraine will be able to request radar images of areas it controls and those under Russian occupation inside its borders, but not of targets deep in Russia.
Cosmo‑SkyMed’s synthetic aperture radar can collect images regardless of cloud cover or darkness. On front lines often obscured by bad weather or smoke, that gives Ukrainian planners more reliable information on Russian troop movements, fortifications, logistics hubs and damage to infrastructure.
For units on the ground, better situational awareness can support more accurate strikes and reduce wasted munitions, lowering the exposure of artillery crews and air‑defense teams that risk detection when they fire. It can also help chart minefields, flooded areas and collapsed infrastructure that affect evacuations and aid deliveries in contested zones.
For Italy and its NATO partners, restricting imagery use to Ukrainian territory is a way to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself and manage operations in occupied areas while drawing a line short of support for strikes inside Russia. Even with that limit, some of the data will contribute to broader assessments of Russian force posture near the border.
The decision follows extended debate in NATO capitals over how far to go in sharing intelligence, cyber tools and advanced sensors. It comes as Ukraine intensifies drone and missile attacks on Russian fuel, industrial and military sites using a mix of domestic reconnaissance, commercial satellite data and allied information where available.
Granting access to military‑grade radar imagery adds to other Western space‑based systems that already help Ukraine, including U.S. and European optical satellites and commercial constellations bought through government and private contracts.
Observers will be watching for details on how quickly Ukraine can task the Cosmo‑SkyMed satellites, whether access includes near‑real‑time imaging or relies mainly on archived data, and how smoothly Ukrainian command structures integrate this feed into existing targeting cycles. Russia’s public reaction will also indicate how Moscow views the impact of such space support on the balance of the war.