(CNN) — US billionaire Elon Musk tweeted Saturday that SpaceX would continue to fund the Starlink web service in war-torn Ukraine, changing course after SpaceX asked the US military to do so. U. S. Citizens to take note.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite web facilities have been a major source of communication for the country’s military in the war with Russia, but as CNN exclusively reported earlier this week, SpaceX warned the Pentagon that it would possibly avoid investing in the service in Ukraine unless the U. S. military intervenes. UU. tens of millions of dollars a month, according to documents received via CNN.
The letter also asked the Pentagon to take over the investment for the use of Starlink by the Ukrainian government and military, which SpaceX said would charge more than $120 million for the rest of the year and could collect around $400 million for the next 12 months. The report prompted a torrent of tweets from social media users protecting and criticizing the decision.
A tweet from Musk’s verified account posted Saturday read: “Damn. . . even if Starlink continues to lose cash and corporations get billions of taxpayer dollars, we will continue to fund the Ukrainian government for free. “
Since they began arriving in Ukraine last spring, Starlink satellite web terminals made through Musk’s SpaceX have allowed the Ukrainian military to fight and stay connected even as web and mobile phone networks have been destroyed in its war with Russia.
A Pentagon spokesman said Friday afternoon that it has been in communication with SpaceX about the investment for the Starlink satellite communications product and about other matters.
Reacting Saturday to a follower who responded to Musk’s tweet: “No smart act goes unpunished,” Musk said, “Still, we continue to do smart acts. “
On Friday, Musk doubled down on SpaceX’s request to the Pentagon in several tweets.
“SpaceX asks to recover beyond expenses, but also cannot indefinitely fund the existing system* and send several thousand additional terminals whose knowledge usage is up to a hundred times greater than that of typical homes. It’s not reasonable,” reads an article from Musk’s verified account. .
He also said that in asking the Pentagon to take over Starlink’s bill in Ukraine, he followed the recommendation of a Ukrainian diplomat who responded to Musk’s Ukrainian peace plan earlier this month, ahead of the letter sent to the Pentagon, with: “Fuck you. “
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, responded earlier this month to Musk’s alleged peace plan for Russia’s war in Ukraine by saying, “F***off is my very diplomatic reaction to you @elonmusk. “
SpaceX’s suggestion that it would avoid Starlink’s investment also came amid growing fears in Ukraine over Musk’s loyalty. Musk recently tweeted a questionable peace plan that would force Ukraine to leave Crimea and the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the question of who he is with with Musk, he replied that he “still supports Ukraine very much” but fears “a big escalation. “
A Ukrainian official, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky, gave the impression of extending an olive branch in a tweet on Friday, writing: “Let’s be honest. Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us in the most critical moments of the war. “. “
“Companies have the right to have their own strategies,” Podolyak’s tweet read. “(We) will find a solution to keep #Starlink running. We expect the company to provide a strong connection until negotiations are completed. “
This story has been updated with more information.
The-CNN-Wire™