Last night Russia hit energy facilities, infrastructure, a medical clinic, a school, a metro station, and ordinary residential buildings in Kyiv.
Ukraine got no warning from the US about incoming missiles, because Trump is blocking the intel sharing with Ukraine. So once again, the air raid sirens could not get civilians into the bomb shelters in time.
Washington is lost. Europe must replace American satellite intelligence.
@randahl Do we have an intel infrastructure in the EU that could replace the US data?
@zbrando UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and several other countries have significant military satellite capabilities.
It is not publicly known how well they compare to the US exactly, but we must use everything we have got in the best way we can.
It is known: the USA have around 200 to 260 spy satellites in orbit, all categories put together (optical, radar, infrared, elint) .
Europe, all nations combined, have less than 100 (80 to 90 are the most common numbers), France, which is the biggest European player, has about 30.
The issue is that these European satellites are not geo stationary. The USA has satellites right above Ukraine and Russia.
@randahl a different topic, but I don't get why Ukraine is still betting on Starlink when they could use Eutelsat. Do you know why?
@kleisli capacity. Starlink has 10000 satellites, European companies have hundreds.
Trump lifted Russian sanctions so Putin can fund Rassvet
https://united24media.com/world/russias-starlink-rival-may-be-in-trouble-as-two-satellites-fall-toward-earth-23401
Musk & his fossil fuel overlords are preparing for world war.
https://www.cigionline.org/articles/digital-sovereignty-and-the-rise-of-orbital-warfare/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/24/fossil-fuels-trump-donations
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-oil-industry-donations
Satellite's reduced latency is required for modern drone & missile warfare.
The Heritage Foundation is targeting the EU.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/25/trump-cop30-lacks-us-climate-progress
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-energy-dominance-oil-iran-venezuela-2026-2
@Npars01 @randahl @kleisli Re. "...Satellite's reduced latency is required for modern drone & missile warfare....": why do drones need satellite links ? Why can't they use inertial navigation ? The technology has been available for years, most airliners have been using it for years, it obviates the need for vulnerable GPS location finding, and it provides position data with centimeter accuracy. The chips cost pennies and are nowadays even installed in model airplanes.
Musk markets Starlink to petrostate despots & oil oligarchs for drone warfare using his satellites for a reason.
Megalomaniac oligarchs want autonomy from state control so he can sell to anyone. Or extort anyone.
Inertial guidance systems don't provide as much capacity for "double tap" coordination & synergy.
https://missilematters.substack.com/p/can-ukraine-jam-russian-ballistic
https://news.uchicago.edu/story/how-quantum-technology-can-help-pilots-navigate-more-safely
@Npars01 @randahl @kleisli Thank you so much for this superb and pertinent set of references (except the last which was someone singing a song). VERY useful and I'm saving them for future reference. It's a long time since I used inertial nav and a lot seems to have changed since. Recently I chatted with a group of children flying model planes on a nearby field. They were simulating approaches to a virtual runway using inertial nav. I was amazed that IN now only needs a cheap chip, no gyros.
@randahl Europe needs to replace the FCC ...
Oct 19, 2026, 1:15 PM@randahl
Again though, I find myself asking: is the US the only source of early-warning intelligence? If that’s the case, isn’t that a major vulnerability not just for Ukraine but for all of Europe?
@randahl it is a good lesson for Europe that not rely on U.S.
@randahl
According to this article, Europe can't replace them before 2030:
https://missilematters.substack.com/p/did-the-united-states-stop-sharing
@randahl Trump is helping Russia murder civilians to pressure Ukraine into surrendering part of itself in exchange for Russia agreeing to end the war it started so that Trump can then be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which he feels he deserves because a Black man has one.
This literally is what's happening.
I hate this timeline.
I frequently wonder exactly WHAT has to happen for the united RATIONAL world to detach from USA.
Militarily
Financially ( RESERVE CURRENCY )
Politically
Here in Australia, our PM is like a fawning love-struck teenager waiting by the telephone.
Its depressing
@Godfrey642 we will now after November 3.