Musk says SpaceX can no longer fund internet service Ukrainian military uses in war

Judy Woodruff:

Elon Musk said today that his company SpaceX can no longer fund the Starlink satellite system in Ukraine. The service has helped both the Ukrainian military and civilians stay connected during the war with Russia.

The announcement comes after Musk reportedly requested that the Pentagon take over funding for Starlink. It also follows backlash that Musk proceed for suggesting a peace plan to end the war that would require Ukraine cede territory to Russia.

John Yang has the latest.

John Yang:

Judy, since February, more than 12,000 Starlink Internet terminals have been delivered to Ukraine. They have been crucial to the country's efforts to regain territory. For instance, drone operators rely on the service to send live feeds to targeting units. Starlink has also been vital to troops staying in touch with their families.

Today, Musk said SpaceX cannot indefinitely fund this system, which he says cost nearly $20 million a month. Last month, SpaceX asked the Pentagon to take over financing the service.

Felicia Schwartz is the Financial Times U.S. foreign affairs and defense correspondent.

Felicia, thanks so much for joining us.

How important has this system been to Ukraine in this war?

Felicia Schwartz, Financial Times:

American and Ukrainian officials have described it to us as a total game-changer, super important.

As you said, it helps drone operators. It helps people stay in touch. It's basically a backup communications network when cell phone and Internet infrastructure are down, and especially as Ukrainian forces are retaking area in the east of the country, where there's not a lot of Ukrainian cell coverage. This has been crucial.

John Yang:

And has Musk just been donating this so far?

Felicia Schwartz:

So it's been a mix.

Musk and SpaceX have donated some. The U.S. government and European countries have donated some. There's also been some crowdfunding efforts. But he has donated some terminals as well.

John Yang:

And he — Musk, as we said, asked the Pentagon if they can't — couldn't take this over. Where do things stand with that?

Felicia Schwartz:

So, the Pentagon said today that they are in active conversations with SpaceX and Musk, trying to figure it out. They said they have received this communication from Musk expressing concern about the pricing.

I know American officials I have spoken to made it very clear that this they see satellite communications and these Starlink terminals in particular as being very, very important to Ukraine's war effort. And they said today that they are in ongoing talks with SpaceX and Elon Musk.

And they have also identified some other companies — they would not say which ones — that also provide this kind of satellite communication function. And they're looking into that as well. I think it's a high priority to keep Ukrainian troops connected.

John Yang:

I mean, given all the assistance, the military assistance, that the United States is providing, could this get wrapped into that, to that military aid?

Felicia Schwartz:

So I think that is something that we're trying to report out and figure out how this might be paid for. Some analysts suggested to us maybe the Pentagon would use the Defense Production Act, for example, to try to fund this.

But I think they — some U.S. funding is going to communications and satellite communications infrastructure and so on. So I think it depends on what the dollar amount is that they work out, how it will be kind of covered and the funds that have been allocated. And maybe Congress will have to play a role. But I think that will play out in the coming days and weeks.

John Yang:

You and your colleagues at The Financial Times have been reporting that there have been wide areas of Ukraine where this service has actually gone down, that it's not operating anymore.

Any idea what caused this shutdown? And how has that affected Ukrainian military operations?

Felicia Schwartz:

So, beginning last month, Ukrainian troops started telling us about what they described in some places as catastrophic outages that have gotten in the way of their efforts to take territory back.

I think there's — I think we're kind of still trying to get to the bottom of what's going on here. Ukrainian officials have said to us they suspect there might be geographic limits that SpaceX is imposing. Some of these outages kind of came as Elon Musk was tweeting about a peace plan for Ukraine that Ukrainian officials and lots of observers see as quite favorable to Russia. It would involve annexing territory that Ukraine has made pretty clear that they don't want to give up.

So, geo — what might be known as geofencing or geographic limits in some areas might be one explanation. Officials have told me that Russian jamming might account for some of it as well. Perhaps Musk or — and SpaceX don't want Russian forces to be able to use the system, so they're being cautious about turning it back on in places that Ukrainian troops have arrived.

But, definitely, it's had a big effect on the battlefield. And since we wrote that original story, we have heard that at least some of these affected units have been turned back on. But I think it will be very crucial in the days ahead that these troops can stay connected as they're making gains or trying to make gains in the south and are making gains there.

John Yang:

You mentioned that piece plan that Musk floated that got a frosty reception, to say the least, from the Ukrainians.

I think it's fair to say it's often hard to determine Musk's motivations. Is there a connection, do you think, between — between that sort of failed trial balloon and what's — what he's saying now?

Felicia Schwartz:

I think it's hard to know, and I definitely wouldn't want to speculate. I think there's definitely some people we're talking to who think that's the case.

They think others have pointed to what Musk has said himself, which is that he really fears escalation and wants to avoid a wider war. So, I think, obviously, Musk is tweeting a lot about what he's doing and his intentions. And we're talking to other people in touch with him as well and trying to figure out what's going on there.

John Yang:

Felicia Schwartz of The Financial Times, thank you very much.

Felicia Schwartz:

Thanks for having me.