Ukraine to get more than 10,000 Starlink antennas - Fedorov

Ukraine has reached a deal with Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. to receive more than 10,000 Starlink antennas to help counter Russian air attacks.

According to Ukrinform, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's deputy prime minister and minister for digital transformation, said this in an interview with Bloomberg.

The devices, which provide internet service beamed down from satellites, will be sent to Ukraine in the coming months, he said.

"SpaceX and Musk quickly react to problems and help us. […] Musk assured us he will continue to support Ukraine. When we had a powerful blackout, I messaged him on that day and he momentarily reacted and has already delivered some steps. He understands the situation," Fedorov said.

According to him, Ukraine has received about 22,000 Starlink antennas since war began in February.

While there's no contract yet, the governments of several European Union countries are ready to share payment, he said, declining to publicly identify them. "As of now all financial issues have been resolved," he said, adding that Ukraine will need to find additional funding in the spring.

"There is no alternative to satellite connections," Fedorov said.

The nation's contingency plan includes deploying thousands of so-called "points of invincibility," locations where Ukrainians could get uninterrupted access to power, heating and internet, some of it provided by Starlink antennas.

"We are ready to live without electricity for a month with at least mobile network and text messages being available. […] Regarding internet, we have a lot of Starlinks, but the key point is we have got a nod for another shipment that will be used to stabilize connection for critical situations," Fedorov said.