SpaceX asks the Pentagon to fund the Starlink Internet network in Ukraine
The SpaceX company can no longer afford to continue financing the Starlink Internet network in Ukraine, its boss, Elon Musk, warned on Friday. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, SpaceX has delivered thousands of terminals there which provide an Internet connection through a constellation of satellites forming the Starlink network. Some 25,000 terminals have been deployed in the country, according to Elon Musk. According to the SpaceX boss, the operation has already cost the company $80 million and the bill is expected to reach $100 million by the end of the year. On Friday, he warned that the space company ” not [pouvait] not continue to fund the existing system indefinitely and send thousands of additional terminals (…). This is not reasonnable “.
According to CNN, SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon last month saying it could no longer afford the costs of service in Ukraine. The company was asking, according to CNN, the US Department of Defense to take over the financing of the use of Starlink by the Ukrainian government and its army, the cost of which was estimated at $400 million for the next twelve months. A Pentagon spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that the Ministry of Defense had received a letter from SpaceX “about Starlink funding (…) in Ukraine. We are staying in touch with SpaceX on this and other matters.” The Pentagon clarified that there are other satellite network options available to Starlink, while adding that the US government does not intend “show off your cards” right now on the subject.
The British daily FinancialTimes claims that Ukrainian forces may have suffered Starlink service cuts at the front, which would have hampered their counter-offensive, before the situation improved. “To our knowledge, SpaceX has not interrupted its service to Ukraine’s civil government agencies and critical infrastructure operators”, explained, Friday evening, a spokesperson for the American Agency for International Development (USAID). Ukrainian telecommunications operators have also been targeted by numerous cyberattacks.
“Let’s be honest. Whatever one thinks, Elon Musk helped us survive the most critical moments of the war”commented, on Twitter, Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency. “Companies have the right to have their own strategy”added Mr. Podoliak. “We will find a solution so that Starlink continues to operate. We hope the company provides a stable connection until the negotiations are completed. »
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