bakgrund
Starlink i kriget mellan Ryssland och Ukraina
Wikipedia (en)
In February 2022, two days after Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine requested that the American aerospace company SpaceX activate their Starlink satellite internet service in the country, to replace internet and communication networks degraded or destroyed during the war. Starlink has since been used by Ukrainian civilians, government and military. The satellite service has been employed for humanitarian purposes as well as defense and counterattacks on Russian positions.
Initially, SpaceX provided and funded Starlink services to Ukraine largely on its own. As of June 2023 Starlink expenses for Ukraine are covered by the US Department of Defense through a contract with SpaceX. As of December 2023, Poland remains the largest single contributor of Starlink terminals to Ukraine, providing 19,500 out of 47,000 delivered. SpaceX executives have declined to extend Starlink availability to Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine like Crimea. This was criticized by Ukraine as it prevented them from carrying out military operations in those areas. Despite this, Starlink was considered in 2024 a reliable partner to Ukraine in the war, and has become a substitute for modern encrypted real-time communication in warfare.
In 2022, Elon Musk denied a Ukrainian request to extend Starlink's coverage up to Russian-occupied Crimea during a counterattack on a Crimean port, from which Russia had been launching attacks against Ukrainian civilians; doing so would have violated US sanctions on Russia. This event was widely reported in 2023, erroneously characterizing it as Musk "turning off" Starlink coverage in Crimea. SpaceX executives repeatedly stated that Starlink needed to remain a civilian network; in late 2022, as Starlink was being used as a tool in combat in Ukraine, SpaceX announced Starshield, a Starlink-like program designed for government customers. Musk is reported to have said that Ukraine was "going too far" in threatening to inflict a “strategic defeat” on the Kremlin.
In Russia, the use of Starlink to attack Russian targets has been criticized by government officials. Russia's military has repeatedly tried to disrupt Starlink services in Ukraine. Reportedly, the Russian military at one point obtained Starlink terminals through other countries. This unauthorized Starlink use was eventually blocked.
Through his company SpaceX and division Starlink, Elon Musk's involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian War has been significant, and met with concerns. In 2024, USAID's Inspector General notified Congress a probe was being launched to investigate, among other things, USAID's oversight of Starlink Satellite Terminals provided to the Ukrainian government.
