On Friday, October 14, Elon Musk’s SpaceX informed the US government that they may no longer be able to provide the Starlink satellite internet services to Ukraine for free. US media reported that SpaceX had informed Pentagon about it last month.
The letter had reportedly asked the US government to take up funding the Starlink services for Ukraine. It is notable here that Musk had provided Starlink services to Ukraine worth millions of dollars per month after the war with Russia affected communications. Starlink services are considered ‘critical infrastructure’ in Ukraine and have been used extensively by the Ukrainian military.
Following the news, there were wide speculations if Musk has taken the decision after the barrage of rude responses and insults he received for proposing a peace plan to resolve the war.
Jason Jay Smart, a journalist working for the Ukrainian media outlet Kyiv Post reminded people that Ukrainian diplomat Andrij Melnyk had recently asked Elon Musk to “f*ck off”.
Elon Musk, in his usual humour, responded by tweeting that his company was simply carrying out the directions issued to him by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany. That is, they are ‘f*cking off’.
We’re just following his recommendation 🤷♂️
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2022
Apparently, the war of words began earlier this month, when Musk’s peace proposal was met with fierce insults and mockery by Ukrainians and many Americans. Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk had asked Musk to “F*ck Off”.
On October 3, 2022, in a tweet, Musk put forward a plan to restore peace in Eastern Europe and end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He wrote, “Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is the will of the people. Crimea is formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake). Water supply to Crimea assured. Ukraine remains neutral.”
Ukraine-Russia Peace:
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2022
– Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.
– Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).
– Water supply to Crimea assured.
– Ukraine remains neutral.
The Tesla CEO also sought the opinion of Twitterati through a poll, with the Westerners voting en masse against his proposal. “This is highly likely to be the outcome in the end – just a question of how many die before then…Also worth noting that a possible, albeit unlikely outcome from this conflict is nuclear war,” he tweeted.
On being quizzed about providing satellite Internet access coverage in Ukraine through Starlink, Elon Musk responded, “The will of the people should decide whether they are part of Russia or Ukraine, but Russia invaded areas that would unequivocally choose to be part of Ukraine.”
Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky also retorted echoing Melynk’s sentiment with his own Twitter poll. Zelensky Tweeted: “Which Elon Musk do you like more?”
His followers were then able to chose between two options: “One who supports Ukraine” and “One who supports Russia?”
Which @elonmusk do you like more?
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 3, 2022
Besides, several westerners also lambasted the Tesla CEO on Twitter for supposedly “siding with Russia” and ‘legitimising’ the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Vladimir Putin.
Elon Musk, who had patiently responded to his critics until then, lost his composure. “We gave Starlinks to Ukraine & lost $80M+ in doing so while putting SpaceX & myself at serious risk of a Russian cyberattack. What have you done besides tweet?” he asked.
Days after this verbal spat on Twitter, now reports have emerged confirming that Elon Musk’s SpaceX will no longer pay for critical Starlink satellite services in Ukraine.
Musk’s SpaceX states it will no longer be able to pay for critical satellite services in Ukraine
Notably, Musk had previously granted Ukraine access to his Starlink satellite network in order to defend Ukraine’s digital infrastructure and avoid internet outages. Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet terminals have been a critical source of communication for Ukraine’s military, allowing it to fight and stay linked even while cellular phone and internet networks have been devastated in the country’s war with Russia.
Recently, however, SpaceX warned the Pentagon that it may discontinue sponsoring the service in Ukraine unless the US military contributes tens of millions of dollars every month.
According to CNN, SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon stating that it can no longer pay the Starlink service as it has been. The letter also asked the Pentagon to take over funding for Ukraine’s government and military usage of Starlink, which SpaceX believes will cost more than $120 million for the rest of the year and might cost close to $400 million in the next year.
The decision came months after billionaire Elon Musk said on Twitter that the former head of Roscosmos (Russian Space Agency), Dmitry Rogozin, threatened him with consequences for providing ground-based subscriber equipment of Starlink to the militants of the Nazi Azov Battalion and the Marines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine using military helicopters in Mariupol.
Recently, Musk and several other experts have expressed concerns that the possibility of a nuclear war has increased significantly as the Russia-Ukraine conflict worsens.
