On Thursday, the Pentagon announced that SpaceX’s Starlink, founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, will provide satellite communications for Ukraine.
We work with various worldwide partners to give Ukraine resilient satellite and communication capabilities. The Pentagon stated that Starlink provides satellite communications for Ukraine’s communications network.
Ukrainian forces employ Starlink for battlefield communications.
Since 2022, SpaceX has provided Ukrainians and the military with Starlink internet access through private donations and a separate arrangement with a U.S. foreign aid agency.
After Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, declared in October that it could not afford to fund Starlink in Ukraine, which cost $20 million a month, the Pentagon deal is a boon.
Russia has attempted to ban Starlink in Ukraine, but SpaceX has hardened the service’s software.
The Pentagon did not publish the deal terms, Bloomberg reported earlier on Thursday, “for operational security reasons and due to the critical nature of these systems.”