Photo: Markus Winkler
Elon Musk can no longer provide Ukrainians with free internet
The multi-billionaire requested the Pentagon to take over and pay for Ukraine’s Starlink which approximate cost is $200 million for the next six months
Oct 14, 2022
The American business magnate Elon Musk has announced his intention to stop funding Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine.
The billionaire and founder of SpaceX company revealed the relevant decision in a letter to the Pentagon that has been made public by CNN.
“We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time,” the news source cited the letter.
Explaining his position, Musk said that SpaceX already spent $80 million on Ukraine’s Starlink system and that further funding is ‘unreasonable’.
He said: “SpaceX is not asking to recoup past expenses, but also cannot fund the existing system indefinitely *and* send several thousand more terminals that have data usage up to 100X greater than typical households. This is unreasonable.”
In the letter, the space technology developer also requested the Pentagon to continue funding Starlink’s free internet in Ukraine. The system’s usage approximate cost is $200 million for the next six months, said reports.
Musk’s SpaceX company has donated about 20,000 Starlink satellite units to Ukraine since the Russian full-scale military invasion of the country.
Using the network, the Ukrainian army could receive real-time intelligence on the movements of the Russian troops and target them.
Also, the internet connection provided by the Starlink system is vital for running hospitals, banks and other important infrastructure in the country.