The failure of hundreds of Starlink terminals in Ukraine scared Washington: “A huge problem”

Small, easy-to-use satellite dishes made by Musk’s private rocket company SpaceX have been universally recognized as a revolutionary source of communication for the Ukrainian military, allowing them to fight and stay online even when mobile and internet networks were destroyed in the conflict with Russia. CNN.

But concerns have recently been raised about SpaceX’s reliability after funding discussions were uncovered and outages reported near the front lines.

CNN first reported that in September, Elon Musk-owned SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon claiming it had spent almost $100 million to fund Starlink in Ukraine and that it could no longer continue to do so. The letter asks the US Department of Defense to take over most of the funding for the Ukrainian armed forces, which it estimates will amount to tens of millions of dollars a month.

Days after the CNN report, Musk appears to have reversed course, saying SpaceX has withdrawn the request. “To hell with it,” Musk tweeted, “we will just continue to fund the government of Ukraine at our own expense.”

Talks between SpaceX and the Pentagon are continuing despite Musk’s claim that SpaceX has withdrawn its request, according to a senior US defense official.

“Negotiations are going on very actively. Everyone in our building knows we’re going to pay them,” a senior Pentagon official told CNN, adding that the military department is seeking written commitments “because we’re worried he’ll change his mind.”

On Wednesday, Musk attended a ceremony for the US Space Force, which was also attended by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Musk has also been implicated in a high-profile and controversial takeover of Twitter, CNN recalls.

The recent shutdown began on October 24 and was described by one person familiar with the situation as a “huge problem” for the Ukrainian armed forces. According to this person, the terminals were disabled due to lack of funding.

The shutdown affected a block of 1,300 terminals that Ukraine acquired in March from a British company and used for military operations.

SpaceX was charging the Ukrainian military $2,500 a month to connect each of its 1,300 devices, bringing the total cost to almost $20 million by September, a person with knowledge of the matter said — and in the end, they could no longer afford to pay.

Before the terminals went completely offline, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry asked its British counterparts in early October to pay a $3.25 million monthly bill. A batch of terminals have also been replaced as concerns arose that the service could be shut down to minimize the impact, the source said.

A British official said that after discussions between ministries, “it was decided that military capabilities have a higher priority.” Among many other channels of support, the UK has sent thousands of Ukrainian troops to its territory for training before they go back to the front lines.

“We maintain a number of terminals that are of direct tactical importance to the Ukrainian military,” a British official told CNN. “We are reviewing and prioritizing all new requests in terms of the impact that donations can have on supporting Ukraine in protecting its people.”

A senior Ukrainian official confirmed the failure, calling the Starlink units “very important” to Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

In a September letter from SpaceX to the Pentagon, it says there are nearly 20,000 Starlink terminals operating in Ukraine. At the time, by SpaceX’s own admission, most of them were purchased in whole or in part with external funding, including from the governments of the US, Poland, and the UK. The letter claimed that these sources also paid about 30% of the monthly connection bill.

The terminals, which include small satellite dishes, are connected to the SpaceX constellation of satellites orbiting the Earth and not only communicate with troops and civilians, but are also used for operations using Ukraine’s drones and artillery guidance.

It is not clear exactly how many terminals the Ukrainian army operates, but the 1,300 that were recently shut down make up a significant portion. In July, the country’s commander-in-chief wrote to Musk directly asking for more, in a letter seen by CNN saying about 4,000 units were deployed by the Ukrainian military.

Musk said earlier this month that of the more than 25,000 terminals currently in Ukraine, fewer than 11,000 pay for the service, which can cost as much as $4,500 a month.

On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on potential contracts or agreements, but said negotiations were ongoing. “We continue to discuss Ukraine’s satellite communications needs with Ukraine and companies like SpaceX and others,” Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.

Whether closer cooperation with SpaceX will give the US government stronger control over the Starlink signal in Ukraine remains to be seen. SpaceX currently controls where Ukraine’s Starlink terminals can be used, and Ukrainian units have previously reported outages as they moved into Russian-controlled areas.

As a result, CNN states, Musk’s control of the signal gives him significant influence on the battlefield at a time when he is being heavily criticized for arguing that Ukraine should sue for peace and give up part of its territory.