Ukraine Asked Musk for Starlink. Ten Hours Later, It Was On

Business Onion · 2:58

On February 26, 2022, two days after Russia's invasion, Ukraine's digital minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked Elon Musk on Twitter for Starlink dishes. Ten and a half hours later, Musk replied that Starlink service was active in Ukraine. Part 3 of THE STARLINK BET: what happened when a satellite internet service that was still losing money on every dish became part of a war — who paid for the service, and who decided how it was used. Numbers & sources: the request (12:06 UTC) and Musk's reply (22:33 UTC) are timestamped posts; the first terminals were photographed on Feb 28. The 590 hospitals and clinics figure is Ukraine's Health Ministry count (March 2023), cited by the USAID Inspector General (Aug 2025). The split between dishes and service is SpaceX's own count, from its September 2022 letter to the Pentagon as reported by CNN: others had paid for, or helped pay for, about 85% of roughly 20,000 dishes, while SpaceX said it covered about 70% of the service; the same letter asked the Pentagon to take over funding, at close to $400 million for terminals and service over the next 12 months (a request, not a contract). Separately, USAID bought 1,508 of the 5,175 terminals it delivered and SpaceX donated the rest. On Crimea: a September 2023 biography first said Musk cut coverage during a Ukrainian sea-drone attack; its author, Walter Isaacson, corrected that within two days — coverage there had not been enabled, and Musk declined Ukraine's request to enable it. Musk has also said coverage near Crimea required U.S. government approval under sanctions. The Pentagon confirmed in June 2023 that it contracts with Starlink for service in Ukraine. Sources: Fedorov (x.com/FedorovMykhailo, Feb 26 & 28 2022; Oct 14 2022) · Musk (x.com/elonmusk, Feb 26 2022; Oct 15 2022; Sept 7 2023) · USAID OIG inspection report E-121-25-003-M (Aug 11 2025) · C4ISRNET, Apr 20 2022 (Dave Tremper) · CNN, Oct 13 2022 (SpaceX letter) · Podolyak (x.com/Podolyak_M, Sept 7 2023) · Isaacson (x.com/WalterIsaacson, Sept 9 2023) · AP, Sept 11 2023 (Frank Kendall) · DefenseScoop, June 1 2023 (Pentagon contract) · Musk, All-In podcast, Sept 2023 (via Snopes) · Mark Carney, New York Times interview, Sept 23 2026. Some scenes are cinematic reconstructions of documented events. All quotes, dates, and figures are verified.