Elon Musk’s concerns over the profitability of Starlink aren’t just limited to GPS applications. What initially began as a goodwill gesture became a source of international criticism for the billionaire after he mooted withdrawing Ukraine’s Starlink service, citing the costs involved. Musk initially shipped receivers to the war-torn country shortly after Russia invaded in February. The move received praise, and it was backed to some extent by the coalition of nations supporting Ukraine’s war effort. The U.S. government paid for a large number of the receivers and has been paying around 30% of the costs required to keep the service going.

With a lot of the country’s infrastructure, including its cable-based internet service, destroyed by Russian actions, Starlink has proved invaluable to the Ukrainian war effort. Communication is an essential part of modern warfare, and short of destroying all 20,000 terminals or blocking out satellite signals, Starlink can’t really be stopped. All Ukrainians really need to keep their communications going is a terminal and a power source. 

However, Musk threatened to withdraw the service shortly after a “peace plan” he tweeted caused a major backlash. The billionaire claimed each Starlink terminal in Ukraine cost around a hundred times more to operate than a standard terminal. The costs were ramped up due to constant cyberattacks from Russia, and the demands placed on communications systems during an active conflict. Eventually, Musk performed another U-turn and the Starlink service currently remains active in Ukraine.