Are there alternatives to Elon Musk's Starlink?

He told this on Espreso TV.

"The Pentagon has already purchased alternative services for Ukraine from American operators. Obviously, such purchases will be expanded. Moreover, as part of one of the military aid packages from Germany, the first 100 satellite terminals were purchased in Sweden. The speed of the satellite Internet there is about 30% lower than that of Starlink, but the reliability is much higher. And most importantly, there is no basis for the legend that the Russians have such powerful electronic warfare equipment to jam satellite communications. In principle, this is impossible. But for some reason, the Russians have been spreading this, and Elon Musk did not deny it. So there are alternatives. Obviously, they will be found soon," the military expert told Defence Express.

Ivan Kyrychevsky suggested that in the future it is also possible that Musk's Space X empire, like every empire, will experience the zenith of its glory and then fall apart.

Elon Musk and Ukraine

Writer Walter Isaacson wrote about the Starlink shutdown in his biography of Elon Musk. According to him, the businessman was afraid that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would use the technology to strike at the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Musk, in turn, said that he did not disconnect Starlink in Crimea, but rejected Ukraine's request to reconnect it.

"SpaceX did not deactivate anything. There was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol. The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor. If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation," the businessman explained.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, called Musk's actions a mixture of ignorance and a big ego, which resulted in numerous human casualties.

Later, Musk said that he did not consider himself a traitor for shutting down Starlink satellite internet in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

"I am a citizen of the United States and have only that passport. No matter what happens, I will fight for and die in America. The United States Congress did not declare war on Russia. If anyone is treasonous, it is those who call me such," the billionaire said.

Viktor Shlinchak, Chairman of the Board of the Institute of World Policy, believes that Elon Musk plans to join the political establishment.

The American billionaire Elon Musk deactivated Starlink not only in Crimea but also in Donbas, reportedly with the intention of preventing the Ukrainian Armed Forces from using the technology during the counteroffensive. This is stated in Musk's biography, written by writer Walter Isaacson.

It is worth noting that this is not the first scandal involving Musk. Last year, his SpaceX company informed the Pentagon that it refused to finance Starlink satellite communications services in Ukraine. Eventually, the US took over the costs.