SpaceX can no longer pay for Starlink in Ukraine and is asking the Pentagon for funding - the cost of services in 2023 will be $380 million

Starlink satellite Internet terminals have become an important source of communication for the Ukrainian military. SpaceX began supplying them to Ukraine in the spring of 2022. However, Elon Musk's company can no longer fund Starlink in Ukraine and is asking the U.S. Department of Defense for funds to make the satellite internet work.

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It should be noted right away that this situation is in no way connected with the negative reaction of Ukraine to the publication of Elon Musk's "peace plan" in Twitter. The American billionaire published his scandalous tweets on October 3, and a letter to the Pentagon asking for funding was sent on September 8.

According to SpaceX, the company has already allocated more than $80 million in 2022 to make Starlink operational in Ukraine. By the end of this year, the services will cost $124 million and in 2023 - $380 million.

Since this spring Ukraine has received 20 000 satellite internet terminals (a week later Elon Musk wrote about 25 000 units). At that, 85% of them were financed by the United States, Poland and Britain. In addition, they paid for almost a third of the traffic in advance.

SpaceX claims that users from Ukraine pay $60 a month, but the U.S. company offers them services corresponding to the $4500 a month rate. In other words, it gets less than 1.5% of the cost of services actually provided.

Elon Musk's company sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Defense after an appeal from Valery Zaluzhny. The commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine asked for 6200 more terminals. According to him, Ukraine loses about 500 devices every month during combat operations.

Source: CNN

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