• As stated by the Ukrainian military personnel, Russians are probably buying the Starlink systems in the United Arab Emirates with already activated accounts and continue to use them on the occupied Ukrainian territories.

• The news comes as a surprise, due to Elon Musk repeatedly saying that Starlink is intended for peaceful use only. In 2022, Musk even deliberately shut down Starlink to thwart a Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol.
• According to the Starlink network coverage map, satellite Internet is not available in Russia, Belarus, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, China, North Korea, Syria, and parts of the occupied Ukrainian territory. Musk did not make any public statements that the systems will be launched in the Russian market.

• Furthermore, the Ukrainian military also started reporting much lower speed of the Internet from the Starlink systems not even close to the frontline. The problems have been observed for several months, and in the last week they have been particularly serious.

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation providing satellite internet access coverage to populations with little or no connectivity. Starlink is already working in Ukraine for infrastructures essential in wartime: power plants, military bases, industrial enterprises, and medical facilities.

How to connect to Starlink Internet

• Note that connecting to Starlink is not free. You need to buy the Starlink Kit, which costs $500, plus a $100 monthly internet fee.
• The Starlink Kit includes a Wi-Fi router, a terminal to connect to the satellites, and a mounting tripod. The kit comes pre-connected with everything you need to access the internet. So, you only have to download the Starlink App on Google Play or App Store.
• Use the app to set up the network. First, you have to place your Starlink where it has a clear view of the sky. The app can help you to determine the best install location. Then go to the Wi-Fi settings and connect to the Starlink12345 network. Follow the prompts in the application.
• To connect to the system, you must first apply for Starlink on the company’s website. The applications are considered consistently. After all payments, the company will send the box by mail.

On March 18, the third batch of the Starlink Kits arrived in Ukraine, as announced by the Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov. The Ministry of Digital Transformation did not disclose the exact amount of equipment already received.

According to the Head of the Parliamentary Committee for Economic Development Dmitry Natalukha, the cost of launching will amount to $1 million, which is «a very good price for Ukraine».

The contract has already been agreed upon with SpaceX

As Natalukha noted, negotiations with SpaceX lasted three months, beginning in December 2020. They were led by the Committee for Economic Development, State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) and the ex-Head of SSAU Mikhail Lev. As a result of negotiations, SpaceX confirmed the launch of Ukrainian satellite for $1 million.

«We can now say that the terms have previously been agreed upon and Ukraine has an opportunity to sign a launch services contract with the legendary American company. The contract price is $1 million, which is an extremely good price for Ukraine, and it is eight times lower than the one that was planned from the very beginning,» Dmitry Natalukha wrote.

According to Natalukha, the general contractor Yuzhnoye Design Office may sign the contract by the end of this week.

Yevgeny Rokitsky, the Assistant of the Head of the Committee for Economic Development, said that SpaceX had confirmed the possibility of launching the Sich 2-1 satellite in December 2021, RBC Ukraine reported.

About the Sich 2-1 satellite

The Sich 2-30 (2-1) satellite is being developed at the Yuzhnoye State Design Office. It is a modification of another Sich 2 satellite, constructed by the Office, that operated in a sun-synchronous orbit from August 2011 to December 2012. Then, as a result of a failure of the chemical power supply subsystem battery, it was lost.

The satellite is designed to capture visible and near-infrared images of the surface of the Earth, as well as to monitor the planet’s magnetic field.

Sich 2-1 became the subject on February 1, 2021. Vice Prime Minister for Strategic Industries Oleg Urusky wrote that President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed to put a remote sensing satellite into orbit. On February, 12, Urusky in an interview with Pervy Delovoy said that the spacecraft is almost ready and requires only an in-service check.Significantly, a year earlier, in March 2020, the Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Committee for Economic Development Dmitry Kisilevsky already reported that the satellite had been constructed and that the Dnipropetrovsk region plans to allocate $1 million for its launch.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed in Twitter that the brand-name Superchargers should come in Ukraine in 2019.

Yes. Supercharger coverage will extend to 100% of Europe next year. From Ireland to Kiev, from Norway to Turkey. https://t.co/7FQZgLCTVJ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2018

According to Musk, in 2019, the Superchargers will be installed in all European countries, including Ukraine. It is planned that two chargers will appear in Ukraine: in Lviv region and nearby Zhytomyr. The exact time of installation is not reported.

Let us remind that the installation of these two chargers was planned in 2016. But the reason why they have not been installed is not known.