Amid War, Elon Musk Starts Starlink Services in Ukraine

“Not just internet services, Ukraine has seen disruption of water services and other basic facilities as the Kremlin refuses to call back its troops.”

SRINAGAR — Elon Musk on Saturday said his company SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service had been activated in Ukraine, after a Ukrainian Minister urged him to provide Starlink services to Ukraine. 

“The Star Link service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route,” Musk replied Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.

The tweet came some 10 hours after Mykhailo Fedorov urged Musk to provide Starlink services to Ukraine, days after it was invaded by neighboring Russia. 

“While you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations,” Fedorov tweeted at Musk. 

He also called on the billionaire “to address sane Russians to stand” against their government’s invasion.

Cybersecurity watchdog NetBlocks said Ukraine has seen a “series of significant disruptions to internet service” since Thursday when Russia launched military operations in the country.

Not just internet services, Ukraine has seen disruption of water services and other basic facilities as the Kremlin refuses to call back its troops. But Kyiv has been saying it’s ready to give a fierce fight in one of the toughest battles for the country in recent history, Reuters reported.

Starlink operates a constellation of more than 2,000 satellites that aim to provide internet access across the planet.

The company on Friday launched a further 50 Starlink satellites and many more are slated to be put into Earth’s orbit.