In a dramatic Twitter interaction between SpaceX founder and Elon Musk and Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov Saturday, the two negotiated to help Ukraine defend and protect itself against Russia and provide satellite internet service for Ukrainians.
It started with Fedorov reaching out to Musk with a tweet that asked Musk to put aside his grandiose plans for his Starlink satellite internet service and provide help immediately where it is needed.
“@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.”
Musk replied with this message. “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.”
It happened in the span of 10 hours. The beauty of Starlink is that it is not limited by traditional internet infrastructure, meaning satellites can be shifted to reach remote areas, or in the case of Ukraine, areas under attack.
Internet service has been knocked down in the capital city of Kyiv, and other big cities, as Russian hackers, conducted cyberattacks against infrastructure in Ukraine and the Ukrainian government.
Starlink has been launching satellites into space for months and currently has a network of 2,000 satellites providing high-speed internet service around the globe.
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