SpaceX tells US government that it can no longer pay for Ukraine’s Starlink service

The Department of Defense was given tens of thousands of Starlink terminals by the company, but may not be able to get future funding. In a letter dated September 8th, the company's director of government sales told them that they were not in a position to donate more terminals to Ukraine.

During the war with Russia, the terminals have been essential. Putin's war machine has targeted Ukraine's communications infrastructure as part of its invasion of the country, but Starlink's satellite-based internet connection has provided an effective way forUkraine's government and troops, as well as civilians and NGOs in the country, to get online and According to Musk, there are 25,000 Starlink terminals in Ukranian.

In its September letter, the Pentagon was asked to pay for additional Starlink terminals requested by the Ukranian government. Between now and the end of the year it is estimated that these could amount to $124 million. The cost of the operation has been stated by Musk.

Musk responded to the report on CNN by taking to social media. He said that SpaceX is not asking to recover past expenses, but also can't fund the existing system indefinitely.

He said that the company is losing money on Starlink. He said that they have to create, launch, maintain and replenish satellites and ground stations for access to the internet. It has been necessary to defend against cyberattacks and jamming.

According to CNN, most of the Starlink terminals have been paid for by American, Polish, and British governments, as well as other organizations. According to CNN, Poland has paid for almost 9000 terminals and the US has provided over 1,700. The Washington Post reported in April that the company provided 3,670 terminals. Around 70 percent of the Starlink internet connection bill has been footed by the space company.

There are reports of catastrophic internet disruptions which have hurt the Ukrainian military's ability to communicate amidst its counteroffensive against Russia. The Financial Times was the first to report on the issues. What is happening on the battlefield is classified according to Musk.

Musk has faced criticism in recent weeks after posting a poll on his website suggesting that residents of annexed regions should vote in favor of giving up the peninsula to Russia. The ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, was the most diplomatic of the responses.

The ambassador recommended that we ask the Pentagon to foot the bill.