Italy is granting Ukraine access to imagery from two of its military Cosmo-SkyMed radar satellites as part of its 13th aid package.
However, these data may be used only within Ukraine, Clash Report reports.
Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto presented the new aid package to the parliamentary committee overseeing security and intelligence. Back in October, sources told the outlet that the package provides access to images from two of the six satellites in Italy’s Cosmo-SkyMed constellation.
Both spacecraft are second-generation radar satellites built by the Leonardo–Thales joint venture, Thales Alenia Space. They can collect high-quality images day and night, as well as through rain or cloud cover. The constellation is operated by the Italian Space Agency and funded by the country’s government.
The newest satellite in the Cosmo-SkyMed series was launched on 2 January this year from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Italy has been sharing such imagery with Ukraine since the first months of the war, and Kyiv highly praised this support during closed-door talks with Rome.
Under informal arrangements, Ukrainian forces may use these images only over Ukrainian territory. For Italy, this restriction is a fundamental red line, as the data must not be used to guide offensives or air strikes deep into Russia.
Radar imagery is an intelligence tool, not a communications network. Unlike Starlink, it does not provide units or drones with internet access, but it helps identify equipment, trenches and depots at night and in poor weather.