SpaceX: Ukraine breaching agreement, weaponizing Starlink

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SpaceX accused Ukraine on Thursday of breaking the agreement between the two parties and using its satellite internet technology, Starlink, for “offensive purposes".

“Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement,” said Gwynne Shotwell, the company's president and top senior, second to Elon Musk.

"We know the military is using them for comms, and that's ok. But our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes," Shotwell added, without adding further details on how the Ukrainian military is using the system during its offenses.

Earlier in January, Musk said SpaceX has prohibited the use of the satellite system from being used in long-range drone attacks.

Read more: Musk pursues policy of 'we coup whoever we want' via Starlink in Iran

“There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that,” she said about Starlink being used by drones. “There are things that we can do, and have done,” she added.

Starlink was "never intended to be weaponized,” Shotwell claimed.

Musk first announced sending the satellite system in March 2022, less than a month after the beginning of the war, and since then, Ukraine has received more than 20,000 satellite internet terminals.

The Ukrainian army has immensely benefited from the terminals by connecting its drones to attack Russian forces.

On November 1, Axios said commercial satellites have become a "game changer" in warfare as satellites provide communication, combat views, and situational awareness for troops on the ground.

On November 5, 1300 SpaceX satellite units of the military went offline, raising concerns within Ukrainian forces as outages were reported near the frontlines, where it was believed then that Russia was able to shut them down using an unspecified electronic weapon.

On November 14, SpaceX's founder Elon Musk said he could no longer provide the services due to a shortage of funds and asked the Pentagon to cover the costs.

SpaceX highlighted its financial issues and urged the government to begin funding Starlink services for Ukraine in a letter sent to the Pentagon last month, stating it will cost more than $120 million for the remainder of 2022 and $400 million over the next year.

A day later, Musk said he will continue to fund Starlink in Ukraine for free despite that other contractors receive government funding to manufacture military equipment for Ukraine.

"The hell with it," Musk wrote on Twitter, saying that he will continue to fund the internet for the Ukraine government for free. 

The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2022