Ukraine may not boast the firepower of Russia, nevertheless it has its own breakthrough: Elon Musk.
Tesla’s billionaire CEO is widely credited with playing an enormous role in Ukraine’s defense by delivering its Starlink satellite web service after a Russian invasion disrupted local web services in February.
Its SpaceX-owned service has installed 1000’s of terminals to maintain the Ukrainian military online.
“He’s really saving Ukraine” – Todd Humphreys, professor of aerospace engineering on the University of Texas told The Sunday Times in London.
The newspaper reported that Starlink also improved Ukrainian drone strikes. One Ukrainian Navy drone was present in Sevastopol, the Crimean headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, late last 12 months with a Starlink antenna attached to its stern.
“Musk has put the ability of the Web within the hands of the Ukrainian military, which will be utilized in various ways,” said General Sir Richard Barrons, former head of the UK Forces Command.
![SpaceX has installed thousands of Starlink terminals to enable the Ukrainian military to access the Internet.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/starlink-5.jpg?w=1024)
“Having the Web is amazingly essential to the best way war is fought,” he added. “Soldiers can flip the screen to point out a tactical map of the battlefield, helping to advertise widespread situational awareness of where the enemy is. It makes an enormous difference.”
Despite his efforts, Musk’s relationship with Ukraine is removed from rosy.
Last October, he got here under fire from President Volodymyr Zelensky for suggesting that Ukraine end the war by handing Crimea over to Russia, in addition to for holding a UN-supervised “re-” election that Russia had organized to annex several regions of the country.
![Starlink reportedly helped Ukraine with drone attacks on Russia.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/starlink-3.jpg?w=1024)
Ukrainian ambassador to Germany he even tweeted: “Fk off is my very diplomatic answer to you @elonmusk.”
Musk initially threatened to withdraw funds to take care of the service, but never shut it down. The Sunday Times reported that it was unclear who would pay for Ukraine, but added that the US was believed to bear among the costs.