Elon Musk said connected Friday he's "just pursuing the recommendation" of a Ukrainian diplomat who told the SpaceX laminitis to "fuck off," by seeking to offload work for backing his Starlink net terminals successful Ukraine.
Musk's trolling came aft Ukraine’s erstwhile Ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk and the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted with hostility to Musk past week tweeting a bid of Kremlin talking points, which helium presented arsenic a program for bid successful Russia's warfare connected Ukraine. This raised concerns successful Kyiv and among its allies arsenic to whether Musk was inactive connected Ukraine's broadside successful the war.
Musk's tweet came successful effect to a CNN report that SpaceX had warned successful a letter, dated September 8 and sent to the U.S. Department of Defense, that it tin nary longer spend to supply its Starlink terminals, which are important for Ukraine's subject communication.
“We are not successful a presumption to further donate terminals to Ukraine, oregon money the existing terminals for an indefinite play of time,” SpaceX said successful the letter, which was signed by the company's manager of authorities sales, adding that the Pentagon should instrumentality implicit the funding.
The Starlink outer connection strategy has been crucial not lone for Ukraine's subject communication, but besides for the authorities to support interaction with commanders, for Zelenskyy to behaviour interviews with journalists, and for civilian communications, connecting loved ones via the encrypted satellites.
Funding the systems would outgo much than $120 cardinal for the remainder of the twelvemonth and the terms tag could scope astir $400 cardinal for the adjacent 12 months, according to SpaceX.
Ukraine has received astir 20,000 Starlink outer units. Musk said past week that the “operation has outgo SpaceX $80 cardinal and volition transcend $100 cardinal by the extremity of the year.”
Musk was initially lauded for providing the Starlink terminals to Ukraine, but according to the SpaceX letter, the immense bulk were partially oregon afloat funded by different parties, including the U.S. government, the U.K. and Poland. Poland is the largest azygous contributor and has paid for astir 9,000 terminals, which outgo $1,500 and $2,500 for the 2 models sent to Ukraine, according to the documents.
Those governments besides paid for a 3rd of the net connectivity portion SpaceX funded the rest, making up the much costly portion of the bill, according to SpaceX.
Among the documents seen by CNN is besides a petition from Ukrainian General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi to SpaceX for astir 8,000 much Starlink terminals. SpaceX reportedly responded by recommending the petition beryllium sent to the U.S. Department of Defense.
The spat comes soon aft caller reports of Starlink outages, which person disrupted important Ukrainian subject connection connected the beforehand lines.
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