Ukraine Gets a Shot in the Arm in War Against Russia After Elon Musk’s New Announcement

Billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday ended an uncertainty about Starlink satellite internet facility in war-torn Ukraine and announced his company would continue to pay for it.

Taking to Twitter, the Tesla founder said even though Starlink is still losing money, his company will keep funding the Ukraine government for free.

“The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free,” Musk tweeted.

Earlier on Friday, Musk said that SpaceX would not be able to pay for Starlink satellite internet in Ukraine indefinitely.

This comes after the Tesla founder drew criticism over his Ukraine peace deal which included acknowledging Russian sovereignty over Crimea.

Starlink, a constellation of more than 3,000 small satellites in low Earth orbit, has been vital to Ukraine’s communications as it fights against Russia’s invasion, with SpaceX donating some 25,000 ground terminals, according to an updated figure given by Musk, AFP reported.

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The world’s richest man had earlier written to the Pentagon warning that his financial contributions would come to an end and that the military would need to foot the bill.

“SpaceX is not asking to recoup past expenses, but also cannot fund the existing system indefinitely *and* send several thousand more terminals that have data usage up to 100X greater than typical households,” he tweeted.

Musk said the operation has already cost SpaceX $80 million and is projected to exceed $100 million by the end of the year.

In a Twitter poll posted earlier, the Tesla boss proposed Ukraine permanently cede Crimea to Russia, that new referendums be held under UN auspices to determine the fate of Russian-controlled territory, and that Ukraine agree to neutrality.

Musk’s suggestion to end the conflict in Ukraine was praised by Moscow but received vehement criticism from Kyiv.

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