Elon Musk confirmed rumors that SpaceX won’t be able to continue supporting Starlink satellite internet in Ukraine. According to a CNN report from Thursday, SpaceX won’t be able to continue paying for the services in Ukraine. The US military has additionally revealed that it was in contact with the billionaire’s business for funding for the crucial network.
Elon Musk previously infuriated Ukrainian officials by putting up his contentious de-escalation strategy, which includes recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea. He received harsh criticism from a variety of sources for this, and some stories claim that he wants to stop using satellite internet as a result.
Then, after a Ukrainian journalist brought up the fact that Andrij Melnyk, a diplomat for the country, had advised him to avoid getting involved, Musk began discussing ending the services.
During Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Starlink was crucial to the country’s communications. In low Earth orbit, the business manages a constellation of more than 3,000 tiny satellites. Elon Musk announced last week that Ukraine received 25,000 ground terminals from SpaceX.
The richest man in the world appeared to confirm in a series of tweets that he had written to the Pentagon with a warning that he would have to cease funding the entire project and that the military would have to pick up the tab.
The US Department of Defense is in communication with Musk about the situation, according to Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh on Friday.
“We can attest that SpaceX wrote to the department on the financing of… its satellite communications product in Ukraine. We continue to speak with SpaceX about these and other issues “In a statement, Singh said.
Musk added that the process has already cost SpaceX $80 million and is expected to cost more by the end of the year.
According to CNN, however, SpaceX data provided to the Pentagon reveals that roughly 85% of the first 20,000 terminals in Ukraine were funded, in whole or in part, by nations like the United States, Poland, or other entities. These nations also covered about 30% of the cost of internet connectivity.