The Morning After: Ukraine lost Starlink access over funding

On October 15th, billionaire Elon Musk said he would indefinitely fund Ukraine’s Starlink use to support the country. But, on October 24th, the Ukrainian military lost internet access, causing problems for commanders and soldiers fighting the Russian invasion. The outage was reportedly caused by a funding brouhaha between Musk, SpaceX and the Department of Defense.

The issue centers on the (roughly) $3.15 million running cost, which SpaceX had asked the US to pay for, but withdrew after public criticism. The report added that DoD officials are likely to take on the running costs but want to set firm contract terms, lest the impulsive billionaire “change his mind.” That’s a reference to, uh, lots of things, but also that Musk has publicly called on Ukraine to hand over chunks of its territory to Russia to guarantee peace.

– Dan Cooper

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