Acting head of NATO’s DIANA innovation program James Appathurai told Politico that Ukraine and several European countries are discussing ways to replace U.S. intelligence support.

He stressed that U.S. intelligence capabilities are unique and cannot be fully substituted at present. At the same time, he noted that in recent years new options have emerged that are now available to many states. Appathurai argued that part of the shortfall could be covered by commercial services and national satellite programs, citing as an example expanded Ukrainian access to imagery from Finland’s ICEYE.

Politico added that ICEYE has previously worked with the armed forces of Poland, the Netherlands, Finland and Portugal, and since 2022 has been actively providing imagery to Kiev.