As of 24 October, around 1,300 Starlink dishes in Ukraine went offline and stopped working, due to a finding issue between SpaceX and the Department of Defense in the US. SpaceX donated the dishes to the war stricken Ukraine a few months back and has been paying for the data plans up until now.
Earlier last month, SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon asking for the Defense Department to pay for the usage charges the dishes in Ukraine have added up. So far, the dishes are costing Ukraine $2,500 per month, with all the dishes out there now that adds up to $3.25 million per month.
Elon Musk responded in October, saying that SpaceX would pay for the usage charges “indefinitely,” but this decision seems to have been backtracked.
The Pentagon spoke to CNN and said:
“Negotiations are very much underway. Everyone in our building knows we’re going to pay them.” They added that the Defense Department needs something in writing, “because we worry he’ll change his mind.”
