Elon Musk’s Starlink ‘ wrecked Putin’s infowar’ A US official and members of the Ukrainian military say that SpaceX’s satellite Internet service, Starlink, has been a key part of Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Elon Musk’s Starlink ‘ wrecked Putin’s infowar’
US Brigadier General Steven Butow told Politico that SpaceX’s Starlink services have been essential to the Ukrainian military. For example, the services have helped send coordinates for artillery strikes against Russia and broadcast Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speeches all over the world. As the director of the space portfolio at the defense innovation unit, the general has worked closely with SpaceX.
“It completely ruined Vladimir Putin’s information campaign from a strategic point of view,” Butow told the publication. “Up to this day, he has never been able to shut Zelenskyy up.”
Every day, Ukrainian soldiers put Starlink to the test to see what it can do. Politico said that the satellite dish is used to plan missions, stop Russia from spreading false information, keep soldiers in touch with their families, and give them something to do when they have free time.
Zelenskyy praised the satellite service last week for keeping the Ukraine in touch with the rest of the world.
“It helped us a lot in many ways,” he told Wired in an interview. “It helped with the blockade of our cities and towns and with the occupied territories.”
“Sometimes, we had no way of getting in touch with those places at all. If you lose touch with these people, you lose all control and touch with reality “he said. “People who got out of the occupied cities, where there was no help like Starlink, said that the Russians told them Ukraine no longer existed, and some people even started to believe it. I’m very grateful to Starlink for their help “Zelenskyy added.
Starlink has helped Ukraine fight back against cyberattacks from Russia. US and UK intelligence reports say that on February 24, one hour before Russia attacked Ukraine, the country broke into the satellite provider that the Ukrainian military used.
Two days after the attack, Mykhailo Fedorov, the vice prime minister of Ukraine, asked Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, to send Starlink terminals to Ukraine. Within hours, Musk sent Starlink dishes to Ukraine. Since then, SpaceX has kept sending things. Last week, the company said that over the past three months, it had sent 15,000 Starlink kits to Ukraine.
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The US Agency for International Development (USAID) paid SpaceX about $2 million in April to send 1,333 terminals to Ukraine, according to a report in the Washington Post. Joey Roulette, a reporter for Reuters, said before that SpaceX sent 3,667 terminals to Ukraine for about $10 million worth of materials. The Post said that this donation could have been partially paid for by USAID.
Starlink is run by a group of satellites in the lower orbit of the Earth. The service was first made to give people in remote areas access to the internet. SpaceX has recently started advertising its service as a choice for RV owners. sources