Ukraine Asks Foreign Partners Danai Starlink, If Elon Musk Asks For Payment

JAKARTA - Ukraine will seek the help of its foreign partners to fund the Starlink satellite internet system currently provided free of charge by SpaceX. According to Ukraine's defense minister to Reuters on Thursday, November 10, this would be done if the Elon Musk-owned company began asking for payment.

"We will try to find funds. (We) have partners in various countries. We will ask them to help us, to help us with financial assistance as well," Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in an interview, when asked if Kyiv would cover costs if SpaceX asked for payment.

Ukrainian armed forces rely on thousands of Starlink devices for connectivity on the front lines, where normal cellular signals are lost or easily intercepted.

SpaceX owner Elon Musk, who recently acquired Twitter Inc, has previously complained publicly about the financial losses SpaceX experienced in Ukraine, but later pledged on Twitter to continue providing "free" services.

"We have an appointment that he will continue to manage services for our Starlink in Ukraine," Reznikov told Reuters.

Reznikov said SpaceX provided "some" of the satellites for free, while others were paid for by Ukraine. He declined to mention the numbers.

The minister said that the Starlinks dispute had been a "challenged, but not a big deal."