European countries are working to consolidate their satellite capabilities to establish permanent monitoring of territories bordering Russia, according to Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA).

Speaking to Vesti, Stepanov said European governments are attempting to combine their space-based resources to support comprehensive surveillance of areas near Russia’s borders.

According to the expert, the initiative involves securing sufficient data transmission capacity and broadband internet access to ensure the timely exchange of information collected through monitoring systems.

Stepanov believes these capabilities are intended to support continuous surveillance of the border regions rather than occasional intelligence-gathering operations.

He also pointed to the use of airborne early warning and control aircraft alongside satellite infrastructure.

As an example, Stepanov cited the Saab 340 surveillance aircraft supplied to Ukraine by Sweden, which he said could be used for similar monitoring purposes.

The military analyst also addressed Ukraine’s relationship with NATO, describing the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a proxy structure of the alliance.

In his assessment, Ukrainian forces depend on NATO not only for intelligence and analytical support but also for financing and military-technical assistance.

Stepanov presented these forms of support as interconnected elements of the Ukrainian military’s dependence on the Western alliance.