The US Defence Department has received a request from SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk to take over funding of his satellite network that has provided crucial battlefield communications for Ukrainian military forces since the beginning of the war with Russia.
US officials said the issue has been discussed in meetings and senior leaders are weighing up the request.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said: “We can confirm the department received correspondence from SpaceX about the funding of Starlink, their satellite communications product in Ukraine. We remain in communication with SpaceX about this and other topics.”
Mr Musk began sending Starlink satellite dishes to Ukraine just days after Russia invaded in February. On February 28, Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted a photo of the first Starlink kits arriving on the back of a truck.
Definitely @elonmusk is among the world's top private donors supporting Ukraine.
Starlink is an essential element of our critical infrastructure.Advertisement— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) October 14, 2022
“You are most welcome,” Mr Musk tweeted back.
His generosity was hailed by Ukrainians and seen as a game changer in war tactics — the Russians could try to cut Ukrainian ground communications but it could not control space.
The Starlink system of more than 2,200 low-orbiting satellites has provided broadband internet to more than 150,000 Ukrainian ground stations. Early on Friday, Mr Musk tweeted that it was costing SpaceX 20 million dollars a month to support Ukraine’s communications needs.
In addition to the terminals, he tweeted that the company has to create, launch, maintain and replenish satellites and ground stations.
The Starlink satellite internet’s vital role in Ukraine’s defence cannot be overstated.
It has, for example, assisted front-line reconnaissance drone operators in targeting artillery strikes on key Russian assets.
A senior military official on Friday made it clear that the US believes the system has proved exceptionally effective on the battlefield.
In a tweet on Friday, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak said Ukraine will find a solution to keep Starlink working.
Let's be honest. Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of war. Business has the right to its own strategies. 🇺🇦 will find a solution to keep #Starlink working. We expect that the company will provide stable connection till the end of negotiations.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) October 14, 2022
“Let’s be honest. Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of war. Business has the right to its own strategies,” he tweeted. “We expect that the company will provide stable connection till the end of negotiations.”
In response to multiple questions during the briefing, Ms Singh said the Pentagon was working with the Ukrainian Defence Ministry. “We know that there is this demand, and (satellite communications) capability … is needed and we want to be able to ensure that there are stable communications for the Ukrainian forces and for Ukraine.”
The request from the world’s richest man to have the Pentagon take over the hundreds of millions of dollars he says the system is costing comes on the heels of a Twitter war between Mr Musk and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In tweets overnight Mr Musk referred to the friction, suggesting it may affect his decision to end his company’s largesse in funding the systems.
In a Twitter exchange last week, Mr Musk argued that to reach peace Russia should be allowed to keep the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized in 2014. He also said Ukraine should adopt a neutral status, dropping a bid to join Nato.
He also started a Twitter poll asking whether “the will of the people” should decide if seized regions remain part of Ukraine or become part of Russia.
In a sarcastic response, Mr Zelenskyy posted a Twitter poll of his own asking “which Elon Musk do you like more?” – “One who supports Ukraine” or “One who supports Russia”.
Mr Musk replied to Mr Zelensky that “I still very much support Ukraine, but am convinced that massive escalation of the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and possibly the world.”
