SpaceX’s internet service Starlink is available in Ukraine and more terminals are being sent to the country, according to the company’s CEO Elon Musk.
The conflict-hit nation has seen internet disruptions with Russian troops advancing and missiles hitting key infrastructure. Monitoring group NetBlocks said Thursday that disruptions had been tracked across much of Ukraine including capital city Kyiv.
On Saturday, Musk was asked by a Ukrainian government official if he would provide more of his company’s Starlink stations to the country.
“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 and to address sane Russians to stand,” Mykhailo Fedorov, the vice prime minister of Ukraine and minister of digital transformation, said.
Musk responded late Saturday via Twitter saying: “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.”
Starlink ultimately wants to provide the world with faster internet, starting by improving internet access in parts of the world that aren’t currently served by broadband providers.
It allows people to connect to the internet via a satellite dish that is placed on or near a person’s property. The internet is beamed down to the dish via a network of Starlink satellites that have been put into orbit by SpaceX and ground stations.
—CNBC’s Sam Shead contributed to this article.