Pentagon Now Negotiating with Elon Musk’s Company over Ukraine’s Starlink Funding
Move comes after Ukrainian ‘diplomat’ tells Musk to f*@k off after Musk proposes Tweet-sized peace plan.
As Russian tanks and troops descended upon Ukraine, I reported that Elon Musk was now providing free satellite-based internet service in Ukraine through his company Starlink.
The importance of that service cannot be overstated. The system helped Ukraine recover quickly from the hail of missiles Russia sent over in response to the Crimean bridge attack.
SpaceX’s Starlink services helped restore energy and communications infrastructure in Ukraine’s critical areas, the country’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Wednesday.
“Over 100 cruise missiles attacked (Ukraine’s) energy and communications infrastructure. But with Starlink we quickly restored the connection in critical areas,” Fedorov tweeted.
Some of the Starlink internet devices that had suffered outages have come back online in the past few days, restoring crucial lines of communications in territory recently liberated from Russian occupation, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing Ukrainian soldiers and officials.
However, Starlink is not a charity. Now that the success of their system has been proven in the battlefield, it would like to be compensated. So now SpaceX is in talks with the Pentagon to find funding for continued service.
The Pentagon on Friday confirmed that the Biden administration was in talks with SpaceX over who will foot the bill for the critical internet service in Ukraine provided by the company’s Starlink.
The director of government sales for SpaceX, owned by CEO Elon Musk, reportedly sent a letter to the Pentagon last month stating it could no longer fund Starlink in Ukraine as it is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to keep it running for the next year, according to documents CNN said it obtained.
“I can confirm that the [Defense Department] has been in communication with SpaceX regarding Starlink,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Friday. “I’m not going to get into further details of this discussion just now. … But we’re working with our partners and allies in trying to figure out what’s best.”
The move comes after Musk publicized the scale of the expense associated with maintaining the Ukrainian system.
…[T]he programme costs $20m (£18m) per month to maintain, according to Mr Musk. He recently said SpaceX has spent $80m so far to keep Ukraine online.
“In addition to terminals, we have to create, launch, maintain & replenish satellites & ground stations,” he wrote on Twitter.
“We’ve also had to defend against cyberattacks & jamming, which are getting harder.”
Of course, it is worthwhile noting that Musk’s request comes after profanity-laced tweets directed at the Starlink CEO from Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany and supposed “diplomat” Andrij Melnyk.
After investing time and treasure to help Ukraine, Musk dared to propose a peace plan (probably hoping, like most normal people, to avoid nuclear Armageddon).
Ukraine-Russia Peace:
– Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.
– Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).
– Water supply to Crimea assured.
– Ukraine remains neutral.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2022
“Diplomat” Melnyk had this response.
Ukrainian diplomat Andrij Melnyk hit back at the proposal, on Twitter. “F**k you is my very diplomatic response to you @elonmusk”he tweeted.
He then replied to another tweet from Elon Musk: “The only result is that from now on, no Ukrainian will buy your damn Tesla. So good luck to you @elonmusk”.
Musk decided that perhaps he would take the ambassador’s advice.
We’re just following his recommendation 🤷♂️
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2022
Many on social media are trying to shame Musk over the decision.
You went from my inspiration and how proud I was for having someone in this world like you, to someone that doesn't have empathy nor considers anyone first than themselves (oh and the money). Shame. What a shame.
— Pluto (@PlutaoPT) October 14, 2022
But many others could see Musk’s point.
Maybe Ukraine media and politicans should be less arrogant and just say thank you if someone else if funding your security
— Brandon Saario (@SaarioBrandon) October 14, 2022
Personally, my favorite take on the exchange:
— Kaleun Thomsen (@Herr_Kaleun) October 14, 2022
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Comments
Ukraine got too uppity and Elon Musk knocked them down a peg. If only our government would do the same.
I feel for the people of Ukraine, and the brave soldiers fighting for their way of life. But Ukraine – LIKE THE contemporary UNITED STATES – is an organized crime operation, acting as a laundry to clean money stolen embezzeled in a variety of ways from you and I by US politicians. It’s really that simple.
That said, Biden and his puppeteers intentionally started this war. (Remember Biden’s early “Putin is a killer” remarks”?) It’s their gravy train.
NATO on the border of Russia is no different than Russia on the border of the US (remember the ‘Cuban missle crisis’?)
Russia is not our problem. The swamp controlling our nation and Europe is our problem.
Ukraine has the goods on the Biden’s and the military complex is making too much money
If Musk is about to overpay for Twitter then a little help from the Pentagon might be in order to balance things out.
There’s a fairly plausible theory, Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop, which holds that the US govt subsidizes Twitter in return for propaganda assistance abroad (maybe at home more recently) and access to information.
Makes sense. The shock and rage by Dems and the media over the sale of Twitter has been revealing. I doubt they give a flip about the propaganda abroad.
So is the DOJ’s announced investigation of Musk over his buying Twitter a negotiation ploy? Keep funding Ukraine’s Starlink or else?
The thug Ukrainians are extremely arrogant with American money
It’s almost like Zelensky is the White Face of Black Entitlement.
Let’s just leave. It’s Europe’s war. They should have honored their NATO funding commitments. Make them cough up the money. They can’t finish the job?
^^^ this ^^^
Oh oh! “Mean Tweets” from Andrij Melnyk! Democrats be all up in arms about those, amiright?
The first hit is free, Zelenskyyyy. After that, you have to deal with Gino One-Eye. Now lose my number, and have a nice life.
Apparently Musk was put on the Myrotvorets, taken down about 15 minutes later. He did not know about this list till now.
Dugina, terrorist attacks in Transnystria, attacks on NordStream, hiring a guy to drive the bomb over the Crimea bridfge without telling him what he going to do. Yeah they are not Nazi’s.
Well, the story didn’t mention it, but it would have been just TOO delicious if he had responded to the ambassador’s tweet by tweeting back, “Message received!”
“I have no intention of turning the satellites of
Uhhh, ok?
I smell LEVERAGE!
Ukraine asked for Musk’s help and he said “Ok” at a cost of $80 million out of pocket. Musk tweeted a possible solution to the war that didn’t involve nukes and the official Ambassador in gratitude for what Musk had done told him to take a hike to Musk replied “Ok”.
It’s on you, Ukraine. Frankly, enough of this war and enough of the US funding it. Let Europe finally pony up to a war on it’s doorstep and let them pay for it instead of relying on Uncle Sucker to continue paying after 75yrs of ingratitude.
It was a dumb solution.
Almost as dumb as the Ambassadors tweet.
And you can’t tell me that all those sweet billions that have been given that they can’t find the money to pay for starlink?? Maybe Ukraine needs to prioritise its most important force multiplier?
Not even the homeless tweakers will tell the guy who gives him a Clif bar to fuck off. Musk has to have been threatened by the Xiden thugs to have turned it back on.