Ukraine minister posts photos of Starlink’s arrival in country and thanks Elon Musk
Move came after appeal for help from vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Satellite internet devices from Elon Musk’s company Starlink have arrived in Ukraine, according to photos from Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who thanked the tech entrepreneur on social media.
Mr Federov posted a photo on Twitter on Monday of a truck filled with an unknown number of the systems, which connect with low-flying satellites to deliver high-speed internet to hard-to-reach areas.
The minister requested Mr Musk’s assistance over the weekend, after Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion has left parts of the country without internet. “@elonmusk, 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 and to address sane Russians to stand,” Mr Fedorov tweeted at the time.
Starlink service is now operational in the country, according to Mr Musk.
“Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route,” the entrepreneur tweeted on Saturday.
The SpaceX system, which connects with a network of nearly 2,000 satellites, does not require the same kind of extensive ground-based fiber-optic infrastructure as other forms of internet.
Users on the ground access the broadband signals beamed back to Earth using a kit sold by SpaceX.
Ukraine-Russia latest news: Kyiv braced for Putin’s advancing troops as West to ban Russian banks from Swift
How do I talk to my children about Russia’s assault on Ukraine?
‘We don’t know who to shoot, they all look like us’: Russian soldiers in Ukraine becoming disoriented, US official says
The 40-km queue to flee Ukraine: Thousands of families rush to leave as Russian army advances
SpaceX plans to eventually have as many as 12,000 as part of its high-speed internet network.
Partial internet outages have already affected Ukraine as fighting continues around Kyiv and other key cities.
Mr Fedorov took to Twitter to thank the SpaceX boss for his quick action.
“Starlink terminals are coming to Ukraine! Thank you (Elon Musk), thank you everyone, who supported Ukraine!” he tweeted.
The country’s official Twitter account also responded to Mr Musk’s action.
“Thanx, appreciate it,” the @ukraine account tweeted.
Mr Fedorov has also called on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Netflix and Google to block Russian accounts in response to the invasion.
“We’ve also asked (Netflix) for the support. We appealed to them to block the Russian Federation’s access to Netflix and shut off Russian content. We believe you do care. Let’s stop this disgraceful bloody war!” he tweeted.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments