A defense minister claimed that senior Ukrainian officials are in direct touch with Elon Musk to resolve the issue around payment for SpaceX's Starlink terminals, which give the Ukrainian military essential battlefield connectivity.
The more than 20,000 Starlink terminals supplied to Ukraine will cost the business around $100 million by the end of this year, according to the billionaire founder of SpaceX. He also claimed it wasn't reasonable for the business to sponsor Starlink in Ukraine without recompense from the Pentagon.
According to USAid, SpaceX and the U.S. SpaceX provided more than 3,000 of the about 5,000 Starlink terminals jointly supplied to Ukraine by the Agency for International Development and other parties. According to business founder and CEO Elon Musk, the number has increased significantly since that time to over 25,000.
Elon Musk's Request to Pentagon Over SpaceX's Starlink Service in Ukraine
On Oct. 14, SpaceX requested payment from the American military to begin using Starlink for the Ukrainian government.
The head of government sales at SpaceX reportedly wrote to the Pentagon in September (via CNN): "We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time."
According to SpaceX, the source also stated that expenditures associated with Starlink in Ukraine might top $120 million for the remainder of 2022 and around $400 million for the following 12 months.
But a day later, Musk publicly retracted this demand for funding from the Pentagon.
"To hell with it ... even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we'll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free," the billionaire entrepreneur wrote on Twitter on Oct. 15. "SpaceX has already withdrawn its [funding request]," he added in another tweet on Oct. 17.
According to Musk, SpaceX is paying for the majority of Starlink's terminals. Furthermore, the price is anything from cheap; the business presently charges $110 per month for Starlink service per terminal, plus a $599 upfront hardware fee.
The cost of SpaceX's Ukraine promise and the company's continuous willingness to pay it have been hot topics on Twitter and in the media over the past four days.
This long-exposure image shows a trail of a group of SpaceX's Starlink satellites passing over Uruguay as seen from the countryside some 185 km north of Montevideo near Capilla del Sauce, Florida Department, on February 7, 2021.
ALSO READ: Elon Musk: Starlink to Fund Ukraine's Gov't 'For Free'
Pentagon Reacts to Elon Musk's Call
A Department of Defense official mentioned that the latest incident had caused the organization to question Musk's claims.
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine's defense minister, told Politico that he "knows that [they] will not have a problem" maintaining the service, citing their "personal communication" as the reason.
Two U.S. officials engaged in the discussions also told Politico that the Pentagon is thinking about taking money out of a fund previously used to provide weapons and equipment on a long-term basis, with the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative being a potential beneficiary.
Reznikov said they have at least three sources if it's merely a matter of money. There is a fund of money in Europe, the Pentagon package assisting Ukraine, or individual contributors may contribute.
SpaceX to Receive Funds Outside Pentagon
Several funding sources might soon assist SpaceX with its financial needs. The co-founder and CEO of the international payment app Chipper Cash, Ham Serunjogi, tweeted on Sunday (Oct. 16) that he would be willing to give money to support the provision of Starlink service to Ugandan hospitals and schools.
Musk tweeted that SpaceX would include a "donate" option on its Starlink website. The business plans to offer something to that effect next week. He made another tweet on Tuesday night that people may soon be able to donate money to Starlink service in Ukraine with the press of a button.
According to reports, the American military has added its perspective: the DoD's press secretary, Brig. On Tuesday, Gen. Pat Ryder said that the Pentagon hasn't yet paid SpaceX anything for Starlink services in Ukraine.
"What an individual company may or may not do in any particular corner of the world of course is incumbent on that company to decide and do," Ryder told reporters on Oct. 18, according to Space News.
He emphasized that the Pentagon and SpaceX had spoken about Starlink and "the broader issue of providing satellite communication to Ukraine."
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