Musk said Starlink was spending nearly $20m a month – which he called a “burn” – for maintaining satellite services in Ukraine. He recently said SpaceX had spent about $80m to enable and support Starlink in Ukraine.
One of Musk’s tweets suggested the move may also be a response to harsh criticism following his proposed “peace” plan. Ukraine’s outgoing ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, also condemned it in blunt terms. “F*** off is my very diplomatic reply to you @elonmusk,” he said on Twitter. The disruption of the service may have dire consequences for Ukraine. Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said this week Starlink services helped restore energy and communications infrastructure in critical areas after more than 100 Russian cruise missile attacks.