(CNN) – SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk announced Saturday that Internet satellites for Starlink are now active in Ukraine, as the country suffers from blackouts due to the Russian invasion.
“Starlink service is already active in Ukraine”, Musk tweetedHe is also the CEO of Tesla. “More stops on the way.”
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister asked Musk to provide internet access to the country amid the Russian attacks, and Musk complied, according to a Twitter exchange between the two on Saturday.
Mikhailo Fedorov, who is also the Ukrainian Minister for Digital Transformation, Musk tweeted: “While trying to colonize Mars… Russia is trying to occupy Ukraine! While your missiles are successfully landing from space, Russian missiles are attacking the Ukrainian civilian population. We ask that you provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and address the sane Russians to keep up.
star link is Internet satellite constellation It aims to cover the planet with high-speed broadband and can provide connectivity to billions of people who still lack reliable internet access.
The idea calls for a swarm of satellites operating in low Earth orbit — about 340 miles, in the case of SpaceX — to provide continuous coverage.
The exchange on Twitter occurred as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country’s deterrent forces, which include nuclear weapons, to be put on high alert. Ukraine’s Deputy Interior Minister Yevgeny Lenin said: Talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations will take place on Monday morning.
A senior US defense official told reporters Saturday that power outages are “intermittent” in Ukraine, but that the Internet is still “generally available.”
The Starlink system was recently used in TongaLtd., in the South Pacific, to provide internet to connect remote cities after an undersea volcano erupted in January, according to SpaceX. CNN reports that it is likely the largest volcanic eruption ever recorded anywhere on the planet in more than 30 years.
CNN’s Eli Kaufman, Jackie Wattles, and Helen Reagan contributed to this report.
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