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Starlink in the Russo-Ukrainian War

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At the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine experienced significant problems with Internet access. The problem was utterly urgent for the military and other special government bodies. On February 26 2022, Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, asked Elon Musk on Twitter to provide assistance to Ukraine in the form of Starlinks.[1] Elon Musk reacted instantly by sending the first shipment to Ukraine, which arrived on February 28 2022. Ukraine was also immediately included in the Internet coverage system from the Starlink satellite network (as it was not in a list of accessible countries before).[2][3][4][5][6]

Over time, the number of Starlink satellites donated by the Starlink company began to grow. The Ukrainian government bodies also started fundraising money to purchase more terminals (Starlink ground stations). In particular, already in June 2022, Ukraine received a new batch of satellites for Ukrainian intelligence units.[7]

Satellite Internet from Starlink began was highly used on Azovstal by Ukrainian defenders, who managed to keep connection with Ukrainian armed forces, journalists and relatives in the besieged Mariupol. Starlink internet also started being used on the trains of Ukrainian Railways, during the restoration of communication in the liberated territories of Kyiv Oblast (in particular, Lifecell, Vodafone and Kyivstar used Starlink to provide mobile communication), etc.[8]

Details

In an interview to The Washington Post, Mykhailo Fedorov said that European countries have sent Starlink termianals to Ukraine from their own supplies.[9]

The Times reported in March 2022, that Ukrainian military were using Starlink to connect its drones attacking Russian forces.[10]

Russian head of Roscosmos and an ultra-right politician Dmitry Rogozin in May 2022, said Elon Musk will be accountable "as an adult" because of providing of Armed Forces of Ukraine with Starlink satellites.[11]

Background

SpaceX had been negotiating with Ukraine for the launch of Starlink a month and a half before the invasion, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said. According to her, SpaceX was waiting for an official letter with permission, but it did not arrive until February 24 - instead they received an "invitation" on Twitter.[12]

As of the end of September, there were 23,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "@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! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand". Twitter. February 26, 2022.
  2. ^ "Elon Musk's Starlink arrives in Ukraine but what next?". BBC News. March 1, 2022. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  3. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Ukraine is using Elon Musk's Starlink for drone strikes | DW | 27.03.2022". DW.COM. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "Перша партія StarLink прибула в Україну (фото)". LB.ua. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "Starlink Маска прибув в Україну. Хто і як може користуватись інтернетом". BBC News Україна (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  6. ^ "В Україні запрацював супутниковий інтернет від Ілона Маска – Starlink. Яка швидкість та чи становить це небезпеку — Forbes.ua". forbes.ua (in Ukrainian). March 2, 2022. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  7. ^ Zaxid.net. "Ілон Маск передав партію Starlink для українських розвідників". ZAXID.NET (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "Втратити вежі й мільярди, отримати Starlink: як мобільні оператори повертають зв'язок". LIGA (in Ukrainian). May 16, 2022. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  9. ^ "Elon Musk's Starlink is keeping Ukrainians online when traditional Internet fails". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  10. ^ Parker, Charlie. "Specialist Ukrainian drone unit picks off invading Russian forces as they sleep". ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  11. ^ "Ілон Маск відреагував на погрози Рогозіна нібито через постачання Starlink українській армії". LIGA (in Ukrainian). May 9, 2022. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  12. ^ "Starlink в Україні: кому доступний інтернет від SpaceX та як ним користуватися". The Village Україна. April 29, 2022. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  13. ^ Olha Povaliaieva (September 19, 2022). "Worldwide "Starlink"". GTInvest. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
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