Why is Ukraine so reliant on Starlink and can Europe plug the gap?

Image source, ReutersImage caption, A man offers residents in Kherson, Ukraine, the use of his Starlink internet after a Russian strikeUkraine is in desperate need of a new satellite internet service, but a fast and reliable alternative to Elon Musk's Starlink network simply doesn't exist - yet.Last week's sudden slowdown of the service in Ukraine, which affected Kyiv's ability to defend itself from Russian attacks, has shown how vulnerable the country can be, and sharply increased Europe's urgency to have its own military-grade satellite network.There are a few alternatives, but they are all lagging behind Starlink, which is the world's largest satellite constellation. France's Eutelsat, with its OneWeb internet service, is the main alternative - but it only has about 600 active satellites, compared with Starlink's 10,000-plus.The EU is working on a new network to rival Starlink, Iris², however it won't be up and running until 2029.For Ukraine's troops on the ground, several of whom spoke anonymously to the BBC, reliable connectivity is the difference between life and death."God forbid they shut it off completely, it would be an absolute catastrophe," said one. "I don't give a dam...