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Maxar reportedly restores Ukraine's access to high-resolution satellite imagery

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Maxar reportedly restores Ukraine's access to high-resolution satellite imagery
Satellite image showing the Morozovsk airfield in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on March 27, 2021. (Maxar Technologies/Gerry Images)

U.S. aerospace company Maxar Technologies has restored Ukraine's access to the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery (GEGD) service, allowing Kyiv to utilize high-resolution commercial satellite imagery again, Ukrainian media outlet Militarnyi reported on March 12, citing users of the service.

Ukraine has relied on such imagery for defense and strategic planning, including tracking Russian troop movements, assessing battlefield conditions, and monitoring damage to Russian infrastructure.

According to Militarnyi's sources, the program's resumption means Ukraine can again access critical satellite intelligence for defense operations.

The move follows U.S.-Ukraine talks in Jeddah on March 11, where Washington agreed to restart key military and intelligence support for Ukraine. On March 7, Militarnyi reported that Maxar had restricted Ukraine's access to its satellite imagery, citing unnamed users.

The company later confirmed the suspension in a statement to the Kyiv Independent, explaining that the restrictions applied specifically to imagery provided through U.S. government programs.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said on March 5 that the U.S. had halted intelligence sharing with Ukraine in a step seen as pressure tactics to push Kyiv toward peace negotiations with Russia.

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Tim Zadorozhnyy

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Tim Zadorozhnyy is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering foreign policy, U.S.-Ukraine relations, and political developments across Europe and Russia. He studied International Relations and European Studies at Lazarski University and Coventry University. Tim began his journalism career in Odesa in 2022 as a reporter for a local television channel. He later spent a year and a half at the Belarusian independent media outlet NEXTA, first as a news anchor and later as a managing editor. He is fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian.

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