Amid ongoing conflict in Ukraine and mounting fears that Russia may cut off Ukraine’s connection to the outside world, tech billionaire Elon Musk said Saturday his company SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service has been activated in Ukraine. The move comes after a Kyiv official urged Musk to provide his embattled country with stations. “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route,” Musk tweeted. Musk was responding to Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, who tweeted, “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.”
The tweet came some 10 hours after Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov urged Musk to provide Starlink services to Ukraine, days after it was invaded by neighboring Russia. Fedorov tweeted at Musk.
He also called on the billionaire “to address sane Russians to stand” against their government’s invasion. Internet monitor NetBlocks said Ukraine has seen a “series of significant disruptions to internet service” since Thursday, when Russia launched military operations in the country. 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.
amid Russian invasion, internet monitors have said connection has taken a hit in some areas of Ukraine. Ukrainian officials and analysts feared Russia would cut off Ukraine’s connection to the outside world. Musk said last month that Starlink had 1,469 active satellites and 272 “moving to operational orbits.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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