The American company SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, notified the Pentagon that it would no longer be able to supply and maintain Starlink terminals in Ukraine for free, and asked the US Department of Defense to bear these costs. It is reported by CNN with reference to the company's letter to the Pentagon.
Not a single break. How Elon Musk's Starlink provides Ukraine with uninterrupted satellite Internet during the war
According to journalists, in September SpaceX sent a letter to the ministry saying: “We are not able to further donate terminals to Ukraine or pay for the operation of existing terminals in for an indefinite period of time.» Elon Musk confirmed this on Twitter.
In addition, CNN received a July request for almost 8,000 more Starlink terminals from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny. An outside consultant working for SpaceX noted that the company does not have the financial ability to comply with the Ukrainian general's request.
According to the publication, Ukraine has already been provided with equipment and services «worth millions of dollars at little cost to Kyiv.» Dmitry Alperovich, co-founder of the Silverado Policy Accelerator analytical center, noted that the Ukrainian army needs Starlink terminals, as “the Russians have set their sights on the Ukrainian communications infrastructure.”
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite Internet has been actively used in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Thousands of terminals support the work of the Internet where cellular base stations have been destroyed, and providers cannot continue normal operation.