He’s done before, so we can definitely expect something like this.

Never happened, Starlink wasn't turned off anywhere, it was just bad media reporting and social media bias. He refused to turn on Starlink over Crimea on a last minute request from Ukraine. It'd have meant violating US sanctions on providing services to Russian controlled territory.

> never happened, Starlink wasn't turned off anywhere

Based on Musk’s comments, he just kneecapped them in favour of Moscow [1]. Negotiators are currently using Starlink as leverage to Molotov-Ribbentrop Ukraine’s mineral resources [2].

That said, Musk is a liar. So absent a statement from Kyiv absolving him (I honestly haven’t looked for this), the best we can say is we don’t know.

[1] https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1699917639043404146?s=46

[2] https://www.reuters.com/business/us-could-cut-ukraines-acces...

Musk's support of Trump looks increasingly like it will start WW3, with Trump personally threatening action against several current NATO allies.

Musk would be correct that private individuals should not have this much power, should not take decisions about what is and isn't legal — which makes it even more hypocritical for him to have had a fight with Brazil or the UK government or offer support for any political party in Germany, let alone to be wielding a chainsaw on-stage at CPAC, being the public face of DOGE, taking his kid into the Oval Office to have a chat with the press, etc.

keyword: could

but in this reality now they are helping and have been for awhile.

articles like those you have linked have always been appearing, but it only highlights how useful starlink has been.

what other company has helped provide internet to ukraine?

They already did cut it once around the Black Sea coast and prevented an attack on some Russian ships in the region. Something that USAID was investigating Starlink for (and I'm sure this next part is a total coincidence /s) and USAID was one of the first targets of the DOGE purges.

> they already did cut it once

They may have. Musk denies it. Kyiv doesn’t, to my knowledge, seem to have pressed it. Can’t quite say it’s not true. But can definitely say it’s not known.

> keyword: could

That’s the difference between a threat and an attack.

No, it's a difference between a hypothetical and reality.

The reality is they are currently helping, have been, and noone else has in that same regard.

-- edit --

Those articles linked below are about "talks" and proposals.

As of now, noone is deployed in Ukraine other than Starlink.

Those companies highlighted don't even have the capacity.

They are just blowing hot air for publicity. They aren't helping at all, they are just using the situation to advertise.

-- edit 2 --

I see, I must have missed that Eurosat was deployed in Ukraine. Albeit in a much more limited form than Starlink.

That's good at least one other company has helped.

However, you still have to credit SpaceX for enabling the ability to send the satellites up there in the first place :)

Sure you could subsidize the competitors, but they'll be sending a huge portion of that to Starlink anyway to launch them.

> reality is they are currently helping and noone else is in the same regard

Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Geo are currently providing services in Ukraine [1][2].

Their leadership, meanwhile, isn’t trying to undermine Kyiv at home and abroad.

> those articles linked below are about "talks" and proposals

Nope. The proposals are for expansion. Eutelsat currently provides service in Ukraine.

(Out of curiosity, where did you read that Starlink has a monopoly on satellite internet in Ukraine? Always helpful to keep track of bad sources.)

> those companies highlighted don't even have the capacity

Sure, Europe fucked up by relying on Musk. Now they have the opportunity to fix it. In the meantime, it’s insanity to divert any resources to Musk that could go to building a competitor, even if heavily subsidised. (U.S. ignoring WTO rules means dumping and state-support rules no longer apply.)

[1] https://www.ft.com/content/f4cc04f0-5ccf-44d8-b5c1-f3eebc9cd...

[2] https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/eutelsat-committed-...

In addition, the "help" from Elon Musk is mostly him agreeing to SELL the service and to have a free trial at the beginning of the war.

The majority of the Starlink terminals are now paid by the countries on public funds (USAID, and the EU countries).

It's not exactly cheap (4'500 USD/month at the beginning of the war, now 1'500 USD/month, for a total of 0.5B/year in revenue for SpaceX).