Starlink Internet terminals for Ukraine are financed exclusively by Poland, and not by the American billionaire and businessman Elon Musk, as many Ukrainians believe.
Points of attention
- Ukraine receives support in the form of Starlink terminals for connecting to the network.
- The US managed to block access to Starlink for the Russian military in Ukraine.
- It is possible that Russia will try to find ways to use Starlink and other commercial communication systems.
Poland ensures the presence of Starlink in Ukraine
The head of Polish diplomacy, Radosław Sikorski, made a statement on this matter.
He drew attention to the fact that one of the main factors that enables the Defense Forces of Ukraine to continue to defend themselves effectively against the Russian army is the connection to the Internet using Starlink terminals.
These Starlink terminals used in Ukraine are not sponsored by Mr. Elon Musk, but are financed and will be financed exclusively by Poland. We do it, not someone else.
Radoslav Sikorskyi
Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
It is also worth noting that back in the spring, Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov reported that Poland would continue to pay for the work of more than 20,000 Starlink terminals that Warsaw handed over to Ukraine.
The US was able to block access to Starlink for Russians in Ukraine
On May 9, 2024, the US Department of Defense officially confirmed that it had prevented unauthorized use by the Russian military of Starlink Internet terminals operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX company on the battlefield in the war with Ukraine.
The head of the Pentagon's space policy department, John Plum, said that the US "actively cooperated with the government of Ukraine and the SpaceX company in order to counter the illegal use of Starlink terminals by Russia."
As of now, we are successfully countering Russian use, but I am sure that Russia will continue to try to find ways to use Starlink and other commercial communications systems, he said at the time.
Despite this, a representative of the US Department of Defense refused to specify what tactics, methods or procedures were used to stop Russia's use of Starlink terminals.
