Elon Musk’s SpaceX said it can no longer pay for Starlink in Ukraine, which has become a critical satellite service apparatus as the country fights to fend off a Russian invasion, in a request to the Pentagon to take over funding the endeavor.
To continue operations, the company asked for tens of millions in subsidies from the Pentagon monthly, according to a letter obtained by CNN. SpaceX argued that the financial strain for continuing operations, as well as replacing destroyed units and fulfilling further requests from Ukraine’s government, was unsustainable for the company.
“We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time,” SpaceX’s director of government sales wrote to the Pentagon.
UKRAINIAN TROOPS REPORT ‘CATASTROPHIC’ OUTAGES OF MUSK’S STARLINK ALONG FRONT LINE
Ukrainian forces are heavily reliant on Starlink as their only means of secure communication, as well as for operating drones. A person familiar with the matter went so far as to say, “Ukraine knows that its current government and wartime efforts are totally dependent on Starlink.”
“The decision to keep Starlink running or not rests entirely in the hands of one man. That’s Elon Musk. He hasn’t been elected, no one decided to give him that power. He has it because of the technology and the company he built,” he added.
The letter also revealed further information about the internal finances of Starlink in Ukraine. It states that about 85% of the 20,000 terminals in Ukraine were paid for, partially or in full, by the U.S. government, other foreign governments, and other external entities. This contradicts Musk’s claim on Twitter that external entities only paid for a “small percentage” of the terminals.
Bad reporting by FT. This article falsely claims that Starlink terminals & service were paid for, when only a small percentage have been.
This operation has cost SpaceX $80M & will exceed $100M by end of year.
As for what’s happening on the battlefield, that’s classified.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 7, 2022
Poland was the single greatest contributor, buying nearly 9,000 units, far more than the United States. These same parties pay for about 30% of connectivity, which SpaceX estimates at $4,500 each month per unit for the most advanced service, which SpaceX provides despite only being contracted for the cheapest, $500 service.
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The letter also revealed that General Valerii Zaluzhniy, commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, personally requested in a letter to Musk that he provide 6,200 more terminals, in addition to 500 per month to offset the estimated monthly losses.
The report said Space X declined multiple requests for comment on outages and the Pentagon request while Defense Department spokesman Bob Ditchey told the news outlet, “The Department continues to work with industry to explore solutions for Ukraine’s armed forces as they repel Russia’s brutal and unprovoked aggression. We do not have anything else to add at this time.”
Despite his assistance for Ukraine, Musk has miffed some from the country, following his suggestion of a peace treaty that would involve Ukraine ceding Crimea.
