Photo: Mykhailo Fedorov
It’s officially been a year since Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov requested that SpaceX activate Starlink internet in the country, and now the official says the country has become one of the most connected countries in the world.
@Fedorov pointed out on Thursday that it’s been a full year since he tweeted at Elon Musk to make Starlink operational in Ukraine amidst Russia’s invasion, adding that the country now has 30,000 terminals with another 10,000 on the way from Germany — meaning Ukraine now has the largest number of Starlink terminals, globally. That’s soon to be 40,000 Starlink terminals.
Last September, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the company had manufactured 1 million Starlink terminals. Later that month, speaking in Paris, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said Starlink now has over 700,000 customers worldwide, including 75,000 active “devices” in Europe and about 6,500 in France.
In December, SpaceX said it eclipsed 1 million active Starlink subscribers worldwide.
SpaceX has been delivering Starlink terminals to Ukraine since the February 2022 tweet to aid in communication and defense efforts.
Fedorov also went on to point out how many telecom accomplishments Ukraine has made since Starlink entered the country, saying that the country’s internet infrastructure is more modernized than ever.
Now, it seems odd that Ukraine would have the world’s most Starlink terminals, with Nathan Owens casting some doubt on the claim.
It all started with this tweet one year ago. Now Ukraine is the country with the largest number of Starlinks. 30K terminals are already in Ukraine + 10K on its way from Germany. Russia planned to leave us completely disconnected, but our telecom infrastructure only got stronger. https://t.co/T3KaXAkksO
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 23, 2023
While multiple countries had helped with the initial donation of the Starlink terminals, SpaceX has also been helping to pay for them, with costs hitting $100 million in October, according to Musk.
During the same month, SpaceX requested that the U.S. Pentagon take over paying for Starlink internet in Ukraine, just days before Musk conceded to continue paying for them, saying “The Hell With It.”
A few weeks ago, SpaceX also took action to prevent Ukraine from using Starlink for drone strikes, according to the company’s President Gwynne Shotwell in a statement.
