Oleksiy and his fellow artillerymen can thank Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, every time they strike a Russian target.
Oleksiy, who declined to disclose his last name for security reasons — is now a power user of Starlink, a satellite communication system owned by Musk’s SpaceX and embedded in a frontline hot zone just south of the vital town of Izyum in Ukraine’s war-ravaged east.
He uses a rectangular white-and-gray Starlink satellite receiver hidden in a shallow pit on the grounds of an abandoned cottage to contact his superiors for last-minute orders when organizing a counterattack or artillery assault. The high-tech gear is connected to a loud generator that runs for half the day.
Military communications aren’t the only thing at stake. After the local mobile network was damaged weeks ago following intense shelling, others in Ukraine’s 93rd mechanized brigade used daily encrypted satellite messages to let friends and family know they were safe.
Oleksiy and his buddies use Starlink’s internet connection to keep up with the newest events in the battle, and when there’s a break between artillery duels, they play “Call of Duty” on their cellphones while hiding in bunkers.
“Thank you, Elon Musk,” Oleksiy remarked shortly after learning through Starlink’s satellites that the Biden administration would be supplying long-range missiles to the Ukrainian army in their struggle against Russia.
In referring to the rockets, he remarked, “This is exactly what we need.”
Many of people have died and thousands more have been injured in the first 100 days of Russia’s invasion of its western neighbour. Despite failures in and around Kyiv, Ukrainian forces are now engaged in a war of attrition with the Russian army, which continues to chip away at local resistance in the country’s east despite setbacks.
