Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading

Musk activates Starlink internet service in Ukraine

A SpaceX Starlink satellite is seen passing in the night sky in Denmark in April 2020. ©AFP

Washington (AFP) - Elon Musk said Saturday his company SpaceX's Starlink satellite broadband service had been activated in Ukraine, after a Kyiv official urged the tech titan to provide his embattled country with stations.

"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine," Musk tweeted, adding "more terminals en route."

The tweet came some 10 hours after Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov urged Musk to provide Starlink services to Ukraine, days after it was invaded by neighboring Russia. 

"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," Fedorov tweeted at Musk. 

He also called on the billionaire "to address sane Russians to stand" against their government's invasion.

Internet monitor NetBlocks said Ukraine has seen a "series of significant disruptions to internet service" since Thursday, when Russia launched military operations in the country.

Starlink operates a constellation of more than 2,000 satellites that aim to provide internet access across the planet.

The company on Friday launched a further 50 Starlink satellites and many more are slated to be put into Earth's orbit. 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.