War in Ukraine: Starlink hardware has arrived and it works!

This weekend, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine tweeted a request to Elon Musk for Starlink connection kits. The CEO of SpaceX reacted immediately and the first convoy of equipment has already arrived on site.

Since the Russian invasion, many Ukrainians have had difficulty connecting to the Internet. This is one of the consequences of hybrid warfare Vladimir Putin, between cyberattacks that paralyze the network and bombings that destroy the infrastructure. This Saturday, February 26, Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformation, called Elon Musk on Twitter.

« While you are trying to colonize Mars, Russia is trying to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets are successfully landing from space, Russian rockets are attacking the Ukrainian people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink terminals “, he wrote. Elon Musk, the boss of SpaceX which provides connection to the Internet by satellite Starlinkreplied just ten hours later to announce that the service was now activated in Ukraine and that terminals were on the way.

An internet connection that can be set up anywhere

This bottle thrown into the sea produced quick results. Elon Musk kept his promise and barely 48 hours later the first kits Starlink arrived in the country. It was Mykhailo Fedorov himself who tweeted a photo of a truck full of the brand’s very recognizable boxes thanking Elon Musk. The donation is rather considerable knowing that each kit is worth 500 euros.

The service Starlink is ensured by a constellation of about 2,000 satellites and can reach up to 150 megabits per second. The equipment, which includes a satellite dish, only requires a power supply which can be supplied by a generator. The system is thus independent of any infrastructure on the ground, and will therefore ensure minimal connectivity in areas of Ukraine that are cut off from the Internet.