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The Pentagon plans to buy Starlink for Ukraine, and Elon Musk won't be able to turn off the service - New York Times
The US Department of Defense has approved an agreement with SpaceX to purchase Starlink terminals and services for Ukraine. In this regard, Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, will not be able to arbitrarily disconnect these services, The New York Times reports.
The article mentions that in June 2023, Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin approved a deal to purchase 400 to 500 new Starlink terminals and services.
Two sources claim that under the deal, the Pentagon will gain control over Starlink settings in Ukraine, allowing the new devices to perform key tasks and missions. The goal appears to be to provide Ukraine with specialized terminals and services capable of performing sensitive functions without fear of disconnection.
The New York Times emphasizes that Elon Musk has previously cut off access to some Starlink terminals in Ukraine. Two sources claim that about 1,300 Starlink terminals purchased through a British supplier stopped working in Ukraine in late 2022 when the government could not pay the monthly payment of $2,500 for each.
The article also notes that access to Starlink varied depending on the course of the war, with Russia seizing territory and Ukraine fighting to regain it. Musk used geofencing to restrict access to Starlink on the front lines using location data collected by SpaceX.
"This led to problems. In the fall, when Ukrainian troops were trying to regain control, for example, of Kherson, in the Russian-controlled territories, they needed access to the Internet. Fedorov and the military sent letters to Musk and SpaceX employees asking them to restore service in areas where fighting was taking place," the article says.
