According to a prominent Ukrainian official, a shipment of terminals from Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink has landed in Ukraine.
Late Monday, Ukraine’s vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, tweeted a photo of a truckload of Starlink terminals, stating, “Starlink — here.” @elonmusk, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” said Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla.
Starlink terminals connect to the internet through SpaceX’s 2,000 satellites, allowing customers to reconnect even if their connection has been disrupted.
Fedorov originally asked Musk to expand the service to Ukraine through Twitter on Saturday, as Russia’s troops surrounded the nation.
“While you want to populate Mars, Russia is attempting to invade Ukraine!” Fedorov penned a letter on Saturday. “While your space rockets successfully land, Russian rockets strike Ukrainian civilians!” We request that you deliver Starlink stations to Ukraine and address sane Russians to stand.”
Starlink — here. Thanks, @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/dZbaYqWYCf
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 28, 2022
Musk responded several hours later, stating that the Starlink service was now operational in Ukraine and promising to send more terminals. He appears to have followed through on his pledge on Monday.
Ukrainians were unsure if they had to pay for the terminals or the Starlink service. Currently, a SpaceX terminal costs $500 and regular internet access costs $100 per month.
The business is launching a $500-per-month premium service with a $2,500 terminal.
A request for comment from SpaceX was not immediately returned.
