Elon Musk in Brandenburg, Grünheide, Germany, last August. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB Photo: Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images
Elon Musk said Saturday that SpaceX's Starlink satellites had been activated in Ukraine, with more terminals en route.
Driving the news: Ukrainian officials requested Musk's help in using his company's commercial internet network after the Russian military's unprovoked military invasion left parts of the country offline.
- Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted to Musk Saturday, "while you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand."
- Musk said in response to Federov, who's also digital transformation minister, "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route."
What to watch: Users on the ground in Ukraine won't be able to access Starlink's signal without their own special receivers — the "terminals" Musk referred to in his tweet.
- Key questions are how many of those Starlink can make available and whether the company can deliver them where they're needed.
Go deeper: The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis