SpaceX can no longer finance the Starlink Internet network in Ukraine

the american company SpaceX lacks the necessary means to continue financing the Starlink internet network in Ukraine, warned its executive director, Elon Muskcalling on the US government to take on that task.

The discussions come at a time when the tycoon has been embroiled in public disputes with Ukrainian leaders, angry over his controversial plan to de-escalate the conflict, which included recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea.

Starlink, a constellation of more than 3,000 small satellites in low Earth orbit, has been vital to Ukraine’s communications in its fight against the Russian invasion, and SpaceX has donated some 25,000 land terminalsaccording to an updated figure given by Musk last week.

On Friday, the fiery and controversial businessman warned that the space company “(could not) continue to finance the existing system indefinitely and send thousands of additional terminals … It is not reasonable.”

SpaceX, the billionaire noted, has already cost the company $80 million and the bill is expected to reach 100 million by the end of the year, he said.

Musk assures that, except for a “small percentage”, all the deployment and maintenance costs of the Starlink terminals in Ukraine have been borne by SpaceX.

But CNN reported that SpaceX figures shared with the Pentagon show that around 85% of the first 20,000 terminals in Ukraine were partially paid for by countries such as the United States, Poland or other entities, which also paid for around 30%. of Internet connectivity.

Survive

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Friday that the US Defense Department is in contact with Musk on the funding issue.

“We can confirm that the department has received correspondence from SpaceX regarding the funding of … its satellite communications product in Ukraine. We continue to communicate with SpaceX on this and other issues,” Singh said in a statement.

He had previously told reporters that there are possible alternatives to Starlink, but declined to elaborate: “There are certainly other satellite communications capabilities that exist out there. I’m not going to show our advantage right now on what exactly they are or who we’re talking to.” “.

Musk has recently clashed with Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, after suggesting a peace deal that would involve re-holding controversial referendums in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, an idea welcomed by Moscow.

kyiv’s ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, weighed in on Twitter, telling Musk to “fuck it.”

In a tweet on Friday, which included a shrug emoticon, Musk said: “We are just following your recommendation.”

Singh declined to comment on whether Musk had decided to scrap the Starlink service in response to the ambassador’s comment, saying it was a question for SpaceX.

The Financial Times, meanwhile, reported that the Starlink outages affected Ukrainian forces on the front line, hampering their ability to recapture Russian-held areas in the east of the country, but said the situation subsequently improved.

“Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of the war,” tweeted Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak.