SpaceX founder Elon Musk said on Monday that he had withdrawn the company’s request for funding from the Pentagon to start paying for Starlink’s satellite internet services in Ukraine.
Musk’s announcement on Twitter followed an exclusive report by CNN that SpaceX made a request in September saying it was no longer able to donate Starlink’s critical terminals or support the expensive follow-up service “for an indefinite period of time”.
SpaceX has asked the Pentagon to begin paying for the service of current terminals operated by the Ukrainian government, as well as funding nearly 8,000 new terminals for Ukraine’s military and intelligence services.
After the report of CNN revealed the order and showed in more detail that SpaceX is not solely responsible for accessing Starlink in Ukraine (in fact, several international efforts have financed much of it), Musk expressed on Saturday (15): “To hell with that … still losing money and other companies are getting billions of dollars from taxpayers, we will continue to fund the government of Ukraine for free.”
Already today, Musk’s speech went a little further, saying that the measure was taken to rescind the request to the Department of Defense.
THE CNN asked the Pentagon if SpaceX took action to withdraw its funding request.
Two sources with knowledge of the discussions between SpaceX and the Pentagon told CNN that on Friday (14), before Musk’s apparent change in stance, that the Pentagon had in fact agreed to SpaceX’s request to pay for continued service to the Ukrainian government and the country’s commander-general’s new request. .
This funding request was for US$124 million (R$654 million) for the remainder of 2022. It is unclear what the final amount or terms agreed.
“To be precise, 25,300 terminals have been shipped to Ukraine, but currently, only 10,630 are paying for the service,” Musk revealed.
SpaceX’s September 8 letter to the Pentagon expressed that the company paid for about 70% of Ukraine’s terminal internet service – which is valued at up to $4,500 a month – but fully financed it. only about 15% of the 20 thousand terminals. The rest was paid by governments such as the US, UK and Poland, as well as private initiatives.
A senior defense official told reporters that the Pentagon has not paid SpaceX anything for Starlink in Ukraine “at this time.”
“It’s something we’re discussing with SpaceX in terms of what potential support could be provided, but at this time, the DoD has not paid for SpaceX’s services as it pertains to Starlink in Ukraine,” the official said.
Some European countries have expressed support for SpaceX’s Starlink funding in Ukraine, a local official explained to CNN .
The topic was discussed informally at the Council on Foreign Relations of the European Union, the official continued.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis exposed on Saturday that “Ukraine’s internet connectivity is too important to be left in the hands of an individual.”
“We will find a way to form a coalition of Ukraine’s allies to pay for Starlink, or we will find an alternative supplier. Lithuania is ready to contribute”, expressed Landsbergis.
Musk has come under considerable criticism for pushing a peace plan that many see as openly pro-Russian, which would include the official surrender of Crimea.
Today, however, he continued to press his proposal, saying, “If Russia is faced with the choice of losing Crimea or using nuclear weapons on the battlefield, they will choose the latter.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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