Russia is trying to ‘kill’ Starlink in Ukraine, Musk says

MOSCOW, 15 Oct — PRIME. American businessman Elon Musk said that Russia is trying to “kill” the Starlink satellite Internet system in Ukraine, it may stop working, despite the resources invested in its protection.

“Starlink is the only communication system still working at the front – everyone else is dead. Russia is actively trying to kill Starlink. To protect it, SpaceX has sent huge resources … Even so, Starlink can still die,” Musk wrote on Twitter.

Musk confirmed on Friday that SpaceX can no longer pay for Starlink’s service in Ukraine. Earlier, the American media, citing documents, wrote that SpaceX was asking the Pentagon to cover the costs. To date, about 20,000 Starlink terminals have been transferred to Ukraine. On Friday, Musk tweeted that the related operations had cost SpaceX $80 million and that the cost would exceed $100 million by the end of the year.

The Pentagon reported that it was in talks with the Musk company about Starlink satellite Internet in Ukraine and considered it necessary that the local military continue to have space communications, according to the US military department, not only Musk can supply satellite Internet to Ukrainian troops.

Starlink is a next generation satellite network designed to provide broadband Internet access around the world. Musk’s SpaceX has launched more than 2,300 Starlink satellites into orbit.

On February 26, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov asked Musk to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and access to satellite Internet, the next day Musk announced that Starlink was now operating in the country. For the period of martial law in Ukraine, the use of subscriber satellite terminals of the Starlink system was allowed for all categories of users. The former head of the Roscosmos state corporation, Dmitry Rogozin, wrote to Musk in his Telegram channel that he would “have to answer like an adult” for supplying the Ukrainian forces with military communications equipment, and also stated that Musk was “involved” in this way in supplying the Ukrainian troops.