The European Union is considering the possibility of paying for Starlink satellite Internet for Ukraine.
This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, in an interview with Politico.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania believes that the access of Ukrainians to the Internet should not depend on one person who can "one day wake up and say: ʼI donʼt want to do it anymore, and thatʼs it.ʼ"
"I thought it would probably be much better to have a contractual agreement between, say, a coalition of countries that could purchase the service from Mr. Musk, the Starlink service, and continue to provide it to the Ukrainians," Landsbergis said.
According to him, this topic became the subject of discussions during the meeting of 27 ministers of foreign affairs of the EU. The head of the EUʼs foreign policy department, Josep Borrell, spoke about it, "and some countries have also joined." Landsbergis did not say which countries supported Borrell.
"If it happens in the EU, itʼs even better. I see no reason why this could not happen," said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.
- On October 14, it became known that the SpaceX company warned the Pentagon that it could stop funding Starlink in Ukraine, unless the American military allocates dozens of millions of dollars a month. The Office of the President of Ukraine replied that Ukraine would find a way to maintain Starlink.
- Later, Elon Musk changed his mind and announced that he would continue to finance Starlink services in Ukraine.