Ukrainian soldier says Elon Musk's Starlink satellites 'changed the war in Ukraine's favor' as they're helping troops stay online amid Russian strikes
- Elon Musk's Starlink system has been active in Ukraine since the early days of Russia's invasion.
- A Ukrainian soldier told a British reporter that the satellite system has proven helpful.
A Ukrainian soldier said that Elon Musk's Starlink satellites "changed the war in Ukraine's favor" because they were helping troops stay online amid Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.
The soldier's comments were reported by the British freelance journalist David Patrikarakos, who was reporting from the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
"I want to say one thing: Elon Musk's Starlink is what changed the war in Ukraine's favor," said Dima, who said he had been fighting alongside Ukrainian forces since March, according to Patrikarakos.
"Russia went out of its way to blow up all our comms. Now they can't. Starlink works under Katyusha fire, under artillery fire. It even works in Mariupol," Dima said, per Patrikarakos.
Starlink is the satellite-based internet division of SpaceX, Musk's space-exploration firm.
On February 27 — three days after Russia invaded Ukraine — Musk announced that Starlink was activated in Ukraine and that terminals were on their way to the country.
His announcement came after Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked the billionaire on Twitter to send the terminals. At the time, internet flows across the country were deteriorating due to Russian attacks.
As of last month, more than 5,000 Starlink internet terminals have been active in the country, The Washington Post reported. Fedorov told The Post that Starlink has proved "very effective" for Ukraine amid the invasion.
The satellites have directly assisted Ukrainian forces in combat.
The Times of London reported last month that an elite Ukrainian drone unit is using Starlink to destroy dozens of Russian targets in the night time.
"If we use a drone with thermal vision at night, the drone must connect through Starlink to the artillery guy and create target acquisition," the leader of the unit told The Times.