Microsoft, SpaceX and Palantir have become significant technology partners to Ukraine during its war with Russia, providing cybersecurity, satellite communications and tools used in military operations. Their involvement has helped Ukraine defend digital infrastructure and coordinate forces, while prompting debate about whether private companies are taking sides in a conflict and what that means for the future of warfare.

Microsoft said this summer that it would continue providing technology support to Ukraine through the end of 2027. Its assistance includes technology and cybersecurity services intended to help the country maintain essential digital services during the war. A Microsoft report published in June 2026 said the company had spent more than $700 million on technology and cybersecurity for Ukraine. The source said that level of support would place Microsoft among the top 25 supporters of Ukraine if the company were a country.

Microsoft’s work began in the days before Russia’s full-scale invasion. Many accounts date the beginning of the war to Feb. 24, 2022, but Microsoft president Brad Smith said the company saw the threat a day earlier. “That’s when we saw 300 Russian-coordinated cyberattacks all seek to down the Ukrainian government.” The New York Times described Microsoft as having “threw itself into the middle of a ground war in Europe.”

A malware attack known as a “wiper” sought to erase information on hundreds of Ukrainian government servers. Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Centre was the first to detect it, according to Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman in their book, *Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy*. Although the company’s personnel were an ocean away, the authors wrote that they “were manning Ukraine’s front lines.” Microsoft rapidly shared intelligence with Ukrainian cyberdefence officials, and Ukraine’s virus detection systems were updated within hours, blocking the malicious code.

Farrell and Newman wrote that Microsoft had built “a closer relationship with the Ukrainian government and the national security advisors and team there.” They characterized the company as Ukraine’s “shield… against waves of attacks.” Microsoft also declared that it would “condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful invasion by Russia,” and suspended “all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia.”

The company’s role extended to intelligence-sharing with U.S. agencies. The New York Times reported in 2022 that technology executives, including Microsoft executives, received security clearances and attended secure briefings by the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. Microsoft and Google were the sources of most of the actionable intelligence shared in that effort. Microsoft established “24/7 sharing of threat intelligence” and worked “closely with Ukrainian government officials and cybersecurity staff” to “identify and remediate threat activity against Ukrainian networks” and “defend against attacks.”

In an interview four years ago, Smith said Microsoft’s first priority was “to support and defend Ukraine.” He compared the company’s approach to a military tactic, saying “you’ve got to disperse your defensive assets so they’re not vulnerable to a single attack.” Smith has also stressed that Microsoft “a company and not a government or country.” The New York Times, however, said he had “made it clear” that Microsoft “is not a neutral one.”

Other U.S. technology firms have also taken steps that have affected the war. PayPal, described as one of the world’s largest multinational online payment systems, cut off access to all Russian accounts after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Palantir first offered its services to Ukraine at no charge and has since used the war to test and develop emerging technology.

Palantir has worked with Ukraine to use artificial intelligence to sort and analyse battlefield intelligence and plan and coordinate deep-strike operations. The work has expanded to controlling drone swarms and identifying targets. The company has partnerships with numerous Ukrainian ministries, and in May it announced a large agreement to expand AI use across military and civilian defence operations. Palantir’s market capitalization was below $25 billion in 2022 and, according to the source, is now closer to $450 billion.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp described the stakes in 2023: “Your ability to identify the right technology and implement it will determine what happens on the battlefield.” He also said Palantir was “responsible for most of the targeting in Ukraine.” That year, Karp said he was “in favor of a robust posture in America” and that the company wanted people who wanted “to be on the side of the West, making the West a better society, more able to defend themselves.”

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network has enabled Ukrainian armed forces to communicate, monitor Russian troop movements and select targets. Richard Sakwa, in his book *The Russo-Ukrainian War: Follies of Empire*, wrote that this capacity “was crucial for Ukraine’s early success in defeating the Russian advance on Kiev.” The network has also supported Ukraine’s use of drones in mid-strike operations, which the source said has transformed the war.

Elon Musk has opposed Ukrainian military use of Starlink for deep strikes inside Russia, reaffirming that position in August. Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, told Responsible Statecraft that “Ukraine would not be able to carry out its current military campaign without Starlink's support.” Last year, Musk said the Ukrainian military’s “entire front line would collapse if I turned it off.”

Providing satellite service without charge became costly for Musk. A year and a half into the war, he threatened to end the service unless the U.S. government paid for it, and the government did so. Poland’s government has also said it pays for Starlink services in Ukraine, contributing $50 million a year.

The companies’ role reflects broader changes in the conduct of war. The Wall Street Journal argued that rifles and tanks are “going the way of sword fights and cavalry charges” as “thumbs on joysticks have largely replaced fingers on triggers and more fighting is done on screens and less in trenches.” Microsoft, SpaceX and Palantir have aligned themselves with the U.S. and Ukraine, supplying technology that the source said has been as important as weapons sent by allied countries.

The source describes these firms as having expressed ideological loyalty to Ukraine and joined its side after Russia’s invasion. Some may view that response as natural, particularly when the cause is considered righteous at home. Others argue that company involvement crosses a line, helps prolong a destructive war that may not be won on the battlefield, and increases profits for shareholders and salaries for executives. The account closes by questioning the propriety of that outcome.

Based on reporting by Responsible Statecraft.