Elon Musk: Starlink internet service now active in Ukraine

(NEXSTAR) -- A Ukrainian official's call for help ended Saturday after Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk shipped SpaceX's Starlink broadband internet service to a recently invaded country. While Ukrainians deal with the Russian invasion on their streets, the war has also eroded much of the country's connectivity.

"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route," Musk tweeted on Saturday. The move comes in response to an earlier tweet by Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

"@elonmusk, when you try to colonize Mars - Russia tries to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets land successfully from space - Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civilian people!" Fedorov tweeted.

Internet service is particularly unstable in southern and eastern Ukraine, Reuters reports. This is the worst attack ever in these areas.

Starlink is a group of low-orbiting satellites orbiting the Earth. The Starlink website states that the service is "ideal for rural and remote communities" where the Internet is unreliable. Back in January, Reuters reported that Musk said there were 1,469 active Starlink satellites and 272 were going into orbit soon.

Since early Thursday, Ukraine has been facing a historic unprovoked attack by the Russian military at the behest of the Russian President. Vladimir Putin. According to the Associated Press, on Saturday Ukraine's defense forces were seen trying to prevent Russia from gaining a firm foothold in the capitol, Kiev. As of Saturday evening, there were massive explosions near the capitol and more than 120,000 residents fled the country.

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