Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Saturday night that he had spoken to SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and announced the country would receive more of its Starlink satellite internet terminals next week.
“Talked to Elon Musk. I’m grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds,” Zelensky tweeted. Musk said on Thursday that Starlink was the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion.
“Next week we will receive another batch of Starlink systems for destroyed cities. Discussed possible space projects. But I’ll talk about this after the war,” he added in the tweet.
Musk tweeted on Saturday that some terminals near conflict areas were being jammed for several hours at a time, but SpaceX’s latest software update successfully bypassed the jamming.
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Last week, the SpaceX chief warned that there was a high chance that its Starlink could be “targeted” in Ukraine, which Russia invaded last week.
Musk also said on Saturday morning that its Starlink satellite broadband service has been told by some governments, not Ukraine, to block Russian news sources. Musk refused.
“We will not do so unless at ‘gunpoint’, sorry to be a free speech absolutist,” he said in a tweet.
Musk first said last week that following a request by Zelensky the company’s satellite broadband service was available in Ukraine, whose internet has been disrupted due to the Russian invasion.
