US government revokes some access to satellite imagery for Ukraine

U.S. aerospace firm Maxar Technologies announced on Friday that it has disabled Ukrainian users’ access to satellite imagery on one U.S. government platform. The move comes as the Trump administration temporarily suspends intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

Maxar said the affected service is part of the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery (GEGD) program, which provides access to commercial satellite imagery collected by the United States for government and allied customers. “The U.S. government has decided to temporarily suspend Ukrainian accounts in GEGD,” Maxar stated, referring further questions to the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). An NGA spokesperson confirmed the action, noting, “In accordance with the administration’s directive on support to Ukraine, NGA has temporarily suspended access to the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery system, which is the primary portal for access to U.S. government-purchased commercial imagery.”

Maxar emphasized that it maintains contracts with the U.S. government and dozens of allied and partner nations, and that “each customer makes their own decisions on how they use and share that data.” The company stressed that there is no change to other Maxar customer programs.

John Ratcliffe, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said on Wednesday that Washington had suspended intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, adding pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government to cooperate with efforts to convene peace talks with Russia. The decision to restrict access to satellite imagery represents one element of a broader shift in U.S. intelligence policy toward Kyiv.

Copied