A Ukrainian diplomat said the Starlink satellite services are “tools” to combat Russian aggression and she believes the dispute over payment for the system can be resolved.
Starlink Internet terminals are produced by US billionaire Elon Musk’s company SpaceX and are the subject of a back and forth between Musk and the Pentagon in recent weeks.
Ambassador Oksana Markarova described Ukraine’s relationship with Musk’s company as a “great partnership” in an interview with CBS Sunday. She stressed the importance of terminals in facilitating humanitarian assistance to the hardest-hit regions of Ukraine, adding that the country will need such assistance in “a longer time”.
“It is very important to continue to have (Starlink) and I am positive that we will find a solution there,” Markavova said.
If you haven’t followed this yet: Starlink is an important source of communication for the Ukrainian military. Of the company internet terminal allowed the military to stay connected even as cell phone and internet networks were destroyed during the war with Russia.
SpaceX has Pentagon warning it could stop funding service in Ukraine unless the US military collects tens of millions of dollars a month. The company also asked the Pentagon to take over funding for the Ukrainian government and military use of Starlink, which SpaceX claims will cost more than $120 million for the rest of the year and could be worth close to $400. million in the next 12 months.
But on Saturday, Musk appeared to reverse course on Twitter – though it’s unclear if the issue has actually been resolved.
“What the heck… even though Starlink is still losing money and other companies are getting billions of dollars in taxpayer dollars, we will continue to fund the Ukrainian government for free,” one tweet from Musk’s verified account.
Complicating Musk’s relationship with domestic officials, billionaires face fierce criticism in Ukraine for publicly presenting a peace plan in which Kyiv would surrender to Crimea and agree to neutrality. Several Ukrainian officials since then extend an olive branch.
