SpaceX founder and billionaire Elon Musk said on Saturday that the company’s Starlink satellite broadband service was now available in Ukraine.
He also said that SpaceX is sending more terminals to the country, whose internet has been disrupted due to the Russian invasion.
‘Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route,’ Musk tweeted.
This was in response to a tweet by a Ukraine government official who asked Musk to provide the besieged country with Starlink stations.
For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our live blog: Russia-Ukraine live
‘@elonmusk, while you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people!’ Ukraine’s vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, tweeted.
While extremely costly to deploy, satellite technology can provide internet for people who live in rural or hard-to-serve places where fiber optic cables and cell towers do not reach.
The technology can also be a critical backstop when hurricanes or other natural disasters disrupt communication.
SpaceX reportedly has 1,970 satellites in orbit now, making it bigger than any other satellite system today. Earlier this month, Musk tweeted that Starlink has over 250,000 user terminals.
The people of Tonga were recently connected with Starlink pic.twitter.com/TfWdvnG688
Most recently, Starlink brought back internet connectivity to the island of Tonga, after a it was hit by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake following a volcanic eruption.
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