Tech billionaire Elon Musk has provided Starlink satellite internet terminals to Ukraine in response to a plea from Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, making good on a promise to help the nation in its time of need.
But, while the terminals will improve Ukraine's connection with the outside world, one expert warns that they could also turn into targets for Russian attacks.
It's seen as a game-changer in underdeveloped areas as no underground infrastructure is required. All that's needed to receive Starlink internet is a Starlink receiver.
Recently, Musk and Starlink came to the aid of tiny Tonga, helping the remote island nation stay connected with the world following a devastating volcanic eruption, Reuters reported.
This pic shows 60 Starlink satellites stacked together before they were deployed in orbit back in 2019. Starlink currently connects 145,000 users in 25 countries via nearly 1,500 satellites, according to Fortune. The company aims to eventually put 30,000 satellites into orbit.
As previously reported, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov issued this tweet to Musk, saying that Starlink terminals would allow Ukrainians to continue to communicate amongst each other and with the outside world. Musk quickly responded, tweeting that "Starlink service is now activated in Ukraine," and added that "more terminals" were en route.
It's easy enough to redirect some satellites, but moving hardware into a war-torn nation is another matter entirely.
Nevertheless, within days, Fedorov confirmed that the first shipment arrived in Kyiv, ready for deployment.
In response to Fedorov's tweet, Musk replied coolly with, "You are most welcome."
It didn't take long to get the terminals up and running.
You would expect that internet service in an active warzone would be patchy, but thanks to the Starlink tech, many Ukrainians now have faster internet speeds than they've ever had before.
Thanks to the many satellites in orbit at any given time, people in Eastern Europe with Starlink terminals are getting consistently fast internet service.
While internet service is critical in terms of keeping the lines of communication open, it comes with a massive downside: those Starlink terminals are pretty easy for Russia to identify.
It's hard to imagine that anything is off the table based off of Russia's recent actions, and this tweet points out that the Russians have a history of targeting people based on their satellite ping locations.
Since Ukraine isn't part of NATO, the country can't expect reinforcements from the west. But donations like Musk's show that help can come in different, unexpected ways.
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