US government revokes some access to satellite imagery for Ukraine
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A Maxar Technologies handout of a satellite image showing an oil refinery in Russia in 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – US aerospace firm Maxar Technologies said on March 7 it had disabled Ukrainian users’ access to satellite imagery on one US government platform, as US President Donald Trump’s administration suspends intelligence sharing
In a statement, Maxar said it has contracts with the US government and dozens of allied and partner nations, and, “Each customer makes their own decisions on how they use and share that data.”
The company said the contract in question is Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery, a US government programme providing access to commercial satellite imagery collected by the United States.
“The US government has decided to temporarily suspend Ukrainian accounts in GEGD,” Maxar said, referring further questions to the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which confirmed the action.
“In accordance with the administration’s directive on support to Ukraine, NGA has temporarily suspended access to the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery system, or GEGD, which is the primary portal for access to US government-purchased commercial imagery,” a spokesperson for the agency said.
Maxar’s action was first reported by military news outlet Militarnyi.
Mr John Ratcliffe, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said on March 5 that Washington had suspended intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, piling pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government to cooperate with the Trump administration in convening peace talks with Russia.
REUTERS
