Musk’s comment on the issue of supporting Internet service in Ukraine comes after he angered many Ukrainians with a proposal to end Russia’s war in their country, which included ceding some territory.
“SpaceX isn’t asking to recoup past costs, but it also can’t fund the existing system indefinitely and send many thousands more terminals that have data usage up to 100 times that of typical households. That’s absurd.” Musk said on Twitter.
The billionaire Tesla boss said Starlink was spending nearly US$20 million a month, calling it “a hoot” to maintain satellite services in Ukraine. He recently said that SpaceX had spent about $80 million to enable and support Starlink in Ukraine.
In addition to terminals, we need to build, launch, maintain & replenish satellites & ground stations & pay telecommunications for Internet access through gateways.
We also had to defend against cyber-attacks & interference, which are becoming more and more difficult.
Burn is approaching ~$20M/month.
—@elonmusk
CNN reported Thursday that SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon last month saying it could not continue to fund the Starlink service in Ukraine and that it might have to stop funding it unless the US military helped with tens of millions of dollars a month. .
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters on the substance of this report.
Kyiv will find a solution to keep the Starlink internet service running in Ukraine, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Friday.
“Let’s be honest. Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of the war. Businesses are entitled to their own strategies. Ukraine will find a solution to keep #Starlink running. We expect the company to provide stable connection until the end of the negotiations,” wrote Podolyak on Twitter.
Sabrina Singh, a US defense spokeswoman, confirmed on Friday that the Pentagon was “in contact with SpaceX” about the Starlink system, but did not elaborate on the specifics of those talks.
Criticized for Ukraine’s peace proposal
Musk activated Starlink in Ukraine in late February after Internet services were disrupted due to Russia’s invasion. SpaceX has since given her thousands of terminals. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said this week that Starlink services helped restore energy and communications infrastructure in critical areas after more than 100 Russian cruise missile attacks. The Current10:47 How Russians feel about the war in Ukraine We hear how Russians feel about the invasion of Ukraine as the war continues, with Denis Volkov, director of the Levada Center, an independent polling group in Moscow. Russia calls its intervention in Ukraine a “special military operation” and says it is not targeting civilians. Musk drew widespread criticism from Ukrainians for a “peace plan” he posted last week, in which he suggested Ukraine permanently cede the Crimea region to Russia, hold new referendums under the auspices of the United Nations to determine its fate of territories controlled by Russia and that Ukraine agrees to neutrality. Ukraine says it will never agree to cede territory that has been taken by force and that referendums cannot be held legally in occupied territories where many people have been killed or driven out. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among those who criticized Musk’s proposal.
