Ukraine will ask its foreign partners for help in financing the Starlink satellite internet systems currently offered for free by SpaceX if the company starts asking for payments, Ukraine’s defense minister said.
“We will try to find the funds. (We) have partners in different countries. We will ask them to help us, to help us also with financial assistance,” Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview, when asked if Kiev would cover the costs if SpaceX demands payment.
Ukraine’s armed forces rely on thousands of Starlink devices for connectivity on the front lines, where normal mobile signal is either absent or easily intercepted.
SpaceX owner Elon Musk, who recently bought Twitter Inc, had previously complained publicly about the financial losses SpaceX was suffering in Ukraine, but later promised on Twitter that it would continue to offer services “for free”.
“We got his promises that he will continue to fix the service for our Starlink services in Ukraine,” Reznikov said.