Ukraine uses Starshield, Starlink’s military-grade satellite service, for battlefield communications and strikes on Russian-occupied territory, while its civilian Starlink system is not used for offensive operations. (EPA images pic)BRUSSELS: EU leaders grappled Friday with how to tackle Ukraine's dependence on Starlink satellite communications supporting its battlefield operations, as Kyiv was rocked by disruptions to the US-owned system.

The bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe did not have a readily available alternative to technology controlled by Elon Musk's SpaceX, as she arrived at an EU summit where the issue will be high on the agenda.

"Starlink is really necessary for Ukraine and unfortunately in (the) short term Europe can't replace this capability," Kallas said before the talks, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also in attendance.