The contributions of Starlink satellite service by SpaceX to Ukraine may not continue long. According to papers acquired by CNN, SpaceX submitted a letter to the Defense Department in September alleging that the firm is “not in a position” to pay Starlink internet in Ukraine as it has in the past without tens of millions of dollars in monthly financing. The business predicted that data connectivity for the Ukrainian government and military would cost $124 million for the remainder of 2022 and about $380 million each year, and urged the Pentagon to assume responsibility for that funding.
Elon Musk commented on the explanation in a Friday tweet. Musk asserted that SpaceX couldn’t afford to support the present infrastructure “indefinitely” while also providing additional Starlink terminals and managing data demand “100X more” than normal houses. Satellite technology may be utilized to deliver data to cell towers and other civilian networks that serve a large number of people, in addition to coordinating Ukrainian military activities. The “burn” was close to $20 million every month, according to the CEO, and included the expense of protecting against Russian “cyberattacks & jamming.”
However, the records seem to contradict one of Musk’s prior statements. Whereas he said last week that just a “small number” of Starlink terminals and services were supported by outside sources, the letter implies that over 85 percent of the 20,000 Ukraine systems at the time (now 25,000) were at least partially funded by the US, Poland, and others. According to a leak in April, the US has already spent millions of dollars to deliver Starlink gear to Ukraine. Nonetheless, resources may have been limited. In July, Ukrainian commander General Valerii Zaluzhniy requested Musk personally for close to 8,000 extra terminals, but SpaceX responded by directing the military leader to the Defense Department.
The letter arrives at a horrible time for Musk. He recently garnered criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and ambassador Andrij Melnyk for suggesting a peace proposal that involved relinquishing Crimea to Russia. Musk even quipped that his company was “simply following [Melnyk’s] advise” to “fuck off” in response to the request. We’d add that Musk’s net worth of around $220 billion is more than Ukraine’s GDP in 2021 – there have been several requests for Musk to personally pay for the Starlink service. There are questions about SpaceX’s commitment to Ukraine’s war against Russia, and the financing request doesn’t help things.
