Irina Pogorelaya07:26, 22.02.25
SpaceX’s satellite internet service is vital for Ukraine.
The US may cut off Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s vital Starlink satellite internet system to force it to sign a mining deal.
The issue was raised by US negotiators putting pressure on Kyiv, Reuters reported , citing its own sources. They detailed that the threat was made during discussions between US and Ukrainian officials after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected an initial offer from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
And now, as a source with knowledge of the negotiations noted, this threat was voiced again during a meeting between White House Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg and Zelensky.
“During the meeting, Ukraine was told that it would face an inevitable service shutdown if it did not reach an agreement on minerals,” the source said.
“Ukraine is working on Starlink. They consider it their North Star. Losing Starlink… would be a huge blow,” the source said.
The publication recalled that Starlink provides vital internet connection for the Ukrainian military.
Melinda Haring, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Starlink is essential to Ukraine’s drone operations, a key part of its military strategy.
“The loss of Starlink is a game changer,” Haring said, noting that Ukraine is now on parity 1:1 with Russia in terms of drones and artillery. Ukraine has a wide range of drone capabilities, from maritime drones and reconnaissance drones to long-range drones.
Recall that Musk urgently provided thousands of Starlink terminals to Ukraine to replace the communications services destroyed by the Russians after the February 2022 invasion. However, Musk later changed his mind and restricted access at least once in the fall of 2022.
Minerals Agreement
Zelensky rejected the original version of the mining agreement because it did not provide any security guarantees for Ukraine.
Yesterday, Zelensky said that the US and Ukrainian teams were working on an agreement, and Trump said he expected the agreement to be signed soon.
(C)UNIAN 2025
With the right president, the US becomes a thug. The last time Ukraine was coerced like this was by Clinton. The result was the notorious BM.
If Muskov shuts down Starlink in Ukraine, he also cuts it off for the orcs. They have been using it for over 12 months in Ukraine. Ukraine has developed ai drones which don’t need the russian lovers starlink.
I just hope that the AI guided weapons are suitable enough and numerous enough to make up for the loss of Starlink.