- Elon Musk said SpaceX wouldn't stop Starlink in Ukraine even if the Pentagon declined to fund it.
- Ukraine's vice prime minister said Musk confirmed Starlink would keep running prior to funding talks.
Elon Musk said SpaceX wouldn't switch off its Starlink internet service in Ukraine even if the US government declined to fund the project.
The billionaire has recently expressed how $4 it has been for SpaceX to keep running Starlink in Ukraine while the war with Russia wages on. SpaceX $4 the Department of Defense (DoD) in September to fund the satellite internet service in the country because the company said it couldn't afford it, $4 recently reported.
Musk $4 on Sunday in response to a Teslarati article posted on Twitter: "Before DoD even came back with an answer, I told Mykhailo Fedorov that SpaceX would not turn off Starlink even if DoD refused to provide funding."
Fedorov, Ukraine's vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, $4 to Musk's tweet, saying before the discussions about funding, the SpaceX CEO confirmed to him that he would ensure Starlink would continue to run in Ukraine.
"This was critically important for Ukraine. We are grateful to you!" Fedorov wrote in the tweet.
Musk $4 to Fedorov: "You're most welcome."
SpaceX didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of US operating hours.
Since Starlink was activated in Ukraine after Russia's invasion, the company has $4 to the country and reports suggest Starlink has $4 Ukrainian troops stay online during the war.
Despite this, Musk has $4 SpaceX was burning around $20 million per month to keep the service running in Ukraine and Starlink was $4. According to documents seen by CNN, SpaceX expected the cost of operating Starlink in Ukraine to add up to more than $120 million for the rest of 2022 and almost $400 million over the next year.
Although Musk $4 the costs were "unreasonable," he then $4 and said SpaceX would continue to fund Starlink in Ukraine.
$4 reported on October 17 that the Pentagon has discussed whether to fund Starlink, according to two US officials involved with the project. The European Union is also $4 for Starlink in Ukraine over concerns the billionaire would turn off the internet service in the country, Lithuania's foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, told $4.
Musk $4 on October 17 that SpaceX had already $4 to the Pentagon for funding.