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| Elon Musk gives Ukraine access to Starlink |
SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that Starlink satellite internet is currently operating in Ukraine and plans to add more stations.
Musk's announcement came in direct response to Ukrainian government officials urging the tech giant to make Starlink Radio available to the struggling country amid the Russian incursion that has disrupted internet services in Ukraine.
Mikhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation, tweeted that Russia is trying to occupy Ukraine while trying to colonize Mars. Russian missiles will attack Ukrainian civilians if your missiles fall from space successfully. We ask you to provide Starlink stations to Ukraine.
Fedorov also urged Musk to speak to rational Russians against their government's interference.
Musk didn't reply until 10 hours later, saying he had approved the request. It is not known how widespread the Starlink service is in Ukraine. In response to Musk's announcement, the official Ukrainian Twitter account tweeted: "Thank you, we appreciate it.
Internet connectivity in Ukraine was affected as a result of the intrusion, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the country, and fighting intensified.
Internet monitors told Reuters that traffic to the country's main internet provider, GigaTrans, briefly fell 20% from normal levels before rebounding to higher levels, adding that it was unclear how much might be due to the Ukrainians fleeing.
According to Elon Musk, Starlink is active in Ukraine
“We are currently seeing 87% of normal connectivity across the country, a number that reflects service disruptions, residents fleeing and home and business closures since the morning of the 24th,” said Alp Tucker, Director of NetBlocks.
Starlink is a growing network of low orbit satellites aimed at providing high-speed Internet services around the world. More than 1,500 satellites are currently in operation.
It is reported that this is not the first time that SpaceX has offered to send Starlink sites to countries in need. Last month, Musk offered to send a radio station to Tonga, where a volcanic eruption cut internet access across the country.
Ukrainian officials released more information about Belarusian cyber espionage. They said they targeted the personal email accounts of Kiev soldiers.
The Ukraine Computer Emergency Response Team said the hackers also targeted Ukrainians, Poles, Russians and Belarusians. Including many Belarusian media.