Elon to Save Ukraine with Starlink! Says ‘The Hell with it’ to Money Troubles

Will the plan for Elon Musk to save Ukraine with Starlink continue? Explore here

Elon Musk's satellite-based Starlink internet service has been a bane for Ukraine in the eight-month-long war but the future is uncertain. Musk has asked the US Department of Defence (DoD) to fund Starlink terminals and the costs of services provided, so that Ukraine may continue to have access. Will the plan for Elon Musk to save Ukraine with Starlink continue?

Musk announced that his company would continue to pay for Starlink satellite internet services in war-torn Ukraine a day after suggesting he could not keep funding the project. "The hell with it," the world's richest man wrote on Saturday on Twitter.

However, it was not immediately clear whether Musk, also the CEO of Tesla, was being sarcastic. In response to a tweet about the move, Musk said, "we should still do good deeds." Responding to another tweet saying that Musk had already paid taxes funding Ukraine's defense, he said, "Fate loves irony."

A day earlier, Musk had said on Twitter that SpaceX would not be able to pay for Starlink in Ukraine indefinitely. And the US military confirmed it was communicating with the billionaire's company about funding for the critical network.

The discussions come as Musk is being embroiled in public spats with Ukrainian leaders who are angered by his controversial proposals for de-escalating the conflict.

How did Elon Musk's Starlink helped Ukraine during the war with Russia? But what's next if SpaceX won't fund Starlink in Ukraine?

Musk activated Starlink in late February after Ukraine's internet services were disrupted because of Russia's invasion. Its internet terminals have since been crucial in keeping the Ukrainian military online. As ground-based internet and communication infrastructure is at risk of damage from missile strikes, satellite-based Starlink has come to Ukraine's rescue. The antenna-sized terminals received internet being beamed on Earth from Starlink satellites in space. Since Ukraine began receiving these terminals and associated services in the early days of the War, Starlink has been a mainstay of the Ukrainian military and civilian organizations engaged in war efforts.

Ukrainian drones have relied on Starlink to drop bombs on Russian forward positions. People in besieged cities near the Russian border have stayed in touch with loved ones via the encrypted satellites. The Ukrainian troops who held out in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol were able to maintain contact with their commanders and even Zelenskyy- and conduct live video interviews with journalists- because they had a Starlink system in the besieged factory.  All told, Starlink- and Ukraine's use of the satellite network, both for its military and civilians- has thwarted Russia's efforts to cut the Eastern European country off from the outside world, giving Kyiv a much-needed victory against Moscow in a conflict that shows no sign of ending.

Also, Starlink internet satellites have been a lifeline for Ukraine's government and military operations during the war with Russia. But reports about a dispute over who pays for the Starlink services operated by SpaceX, coupled with public statements from Musk, have cast uncertainty over whether Ukraine can continue to rely on the technology.

But Elon clears the doubt by saying "Even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we'll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free." Although it was not immediately clear whether Musk's change of mind was genuine, he later appeared to indicate it was. When a Twitter user told Musk "No good deed goes unpunished", he replied, "Even so, we should still do good deeds".

"For the last six months, Ukraine has showed very good strategic communication," he added. "Of course there is sometimes lags in the communication and some misunderstanding, but at the end of the day, as you see with this tweet [from Musk], we managed to communicate to our partners around the world the importance of supporting Ukraine and Ukrainian people in their fight against the war from Russia."