Elon Musk warns he can no longer bear the cost of the crucial communications network guaranteed by the approximately 20,000 Starlink satellite terminals donated to Ukraine, and in a letter in September warned the Pentagon that it could end the service, if the US defends him and does not pay the tens of millions of dollars in monthly fees. CNN reports about it. The billionaire entrepreneur has revealed that his SpaceX has spent $80 million so far and that the cost could top $120 million by the end of the year and $400 in the next 12 months.
“We are not in a position to donate more terminals to Ukraine or fund existing terminals indefinitely,” SpaceX’s director of government sales wrote to the Pentagon. In July, the commander-general of the Ukrainian army, General Valerii Zaluzhniy, requested about 8,000 more Starlink terminals from Musk, CNN revealed. Terminals that provide a vital source of information for Kiev troops, allowing them to fight and stay connected even as cellular and internet networks are destroyed in the war with the Russians.
Recently, however, there has been news, undisputed by Musk, of a blackout of the service and a loss of communications with consequences for the front line and for the continuation of the counteroffensive. In the past few days, Musk had launched a controversial peace proposal that envisages the cession of Crimea and the repetition of referendums in the eastern regions under the aegis of the UN. Moscow welcomed the proposal, but not Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who asked the American tycoon which side he was on. Musk replied that he still strongly supports Kyiv but fears an escalation.
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