SpaceX Cannot Continue Funding Critical Satellite Services in Ukraine, Seeks Pentagon Assistance: CNN

SpaceX has informed the Pentagon that it can no longer fund critical satellite services in Ukraine and is requesting assistance to cover the bills, CNN reports.

SpaceX has warned that to continue operations in Ukraine, Starlink will require tens of millions of dollars every month. This was outlined in a letter sent to the Pentagon last month, in which the company requested financial support.

According to the company’s calculations, it will cost more than $120 million by the end of the year and approximately $400 million in the next year. So far, about 20,000 Starlink satellites have been donated to Ukraine. Musk tweeted last week that the operation has cost SpaceX $80 million and will exceed $100 million by the end of the year.

CNN also found previously unpublished direct requests in SpaceX documents sent to the Pentagon, including one made in July by General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander of Ukraine's armed forces, for about 8,000 additional Starlink terminals. The report indicates that around 500 terminals are destroyed monthly.