Pentagon will buy Starlink terminals for Ukraine that Elon Musk won't be able to disconnect – the NYT

The Pentagon has approved an agreement with SpaceX to purchase Starlink for Ukraine, which the company's founder, Elon Musk, will not be able to disconnect.

Source: The New York Times citing sources

Details: In June 2023, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a Pentagon deal to buy 400 to 500 new Starlink terminals and services, according to the media outlet.

Two sources familiar with the contract stated that the Pentagon will gain control over the Starlink signal settings on the territory of Ukraine, so that the new devices will be able to implement the objectives.

As noted, this was done in order to provide Ukraine with terminals and services to perform tasks without fear of communication interruption.

The publication reminds that Musk disconnected access to some Starlink terminals in Ukraine.

About 1,300 Starlink terminals purchased through a British supplier stopped working in Ukraine at the end of 2022, after the government was unable to make monthly payments of $2,500 for each, according to two sources.

In addition, the publication reports that access to Starlink also changed depending on the course of the war, as Russia was conquering territories, and Ukraine was fighting to get them back.

Depending on how the front line changed, Musk used geolocation to limit Starlink's availability on the front lines.

"This caused problems. When Ukrainian troops tried retaking cities like Kherson in Russian-controlled areas in the fall, they needed internet access to communicate. Mr. Fedorov and members of the armed forces messaged Mr. Musk and SpaceX employees requests to restore service in areas where the army was advancing," the NYT article reads.

As noted, now more than 42,000 Starlink terminals are used in Ukraine by the military, hospitals, businesses and humanitarian organisations.

Background: SpaceX took measures to prevent the Ukrainian military from using the Starlink satellite Internet to control drones in the region during the country's war with Russia.

• After the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation, asked Elon Musk to provide Ukraine with Starlink, and Musk responded, and on 28 February Ukraine received the first satellite internet stations, with deliveries continuing in March.
• Thanks to Starlink equipment in Kyiv Oblast, residents of the cities of Irpin and Romanivka were able to restore communication after the Russian army withdrew from the area.
• On 20 April, Fedorov said that the regulator had allowed all categories of users to use Starlink terminals, not just critical infrastructure.
• In early May, SpaceX allowed Starlink satellite internet subscriber kits to be moved from one location to another.
• Disconnecting mobile communications and the Internet is one of Russia's methods when attempting to occupy by creating an information vacuum in a certain territory and mislead people with Russian propaganda.

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