Over 10,000 more Starlink antennas to arrive in Ukraine in coming months

More than 10,000 antennas will be sent to Ukraine in the coming months. Ukraine signed an agreement with Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. about receiving additional Starlink antennas.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov, stated this in an interview with Bloomberg.

"SpaceX and Musk quickly react to problems and help us," Fedorov said.

The minister added that he spoke with Musk directly.

"Musk assured us he will continue to support Ukraine. When we had a powerful blackout, I messaged him on that day, and he momentarily reacted and has already delivered some steps. He understands the situation," the minister said.

A SpaceX representative did not respond to the agency's message seeking comment.

"Starlink played an important early role in the war in Ukraine, as Russia's military focused on destroying communications. Starlink antennas allowed Ukraine's troops to maintain contact as they repelled Russia's opening onslaught. Musk was initially praised as a hero. 

But Musk, SpaceX's chief executive officer, drew the wrath of Ukrainians in October when he tweeted that Kyiv should remain neutral — an apparent suggestion that it not join military alliances like NATO — and should cede territory to Russia in exchange for a peace deal," Bloomberg recalls.

Fedorov also reported that Ukraine had received about 22,000 Starlink antennas since the beginning of the great war in February.

Although there is no contract yet, several EU governments are willing to split the payment, he said, declining to name them publicly.

"As of now, all financial issues have been resolved," the minister said. He added that Ukraine would need to find additional funding in the spring.

"There is no alternative to satellite connections," Fedorov admitted.

The emergency action plan envisages the deployment of thousands of "points of invincibility" where Ukrainians can get uninterrupted access to electricity, heating, and the Internet, some of which are provided by Starlink antennas.

"We are ready to live without electricity for a month with at least mobile network and text messages being available," Fedorov said.

"Regarding internet, we have a lot of Starlinks, but the key point is we have got a nod for another shipment that will be used to stabilize connection for critical situations," he added.