How Elon Musk turned his back on Ukraine -. The Atlantic Ocean. Part 2/3 This account of how Musk changed his position on Ukraine is based on interviews with more than a dozen US and Ukrainian officials, military officials, UAV manufacturers and Starlink experts. Some have dealt directly with Musk and his company since the start of the war in 2022 and have seen his attitude towards Ukraine change from generous support to outright hostility. If anything could keep Musk from abandoning Ukraine for now, it could be his financial interests. SpaceX has made hundreds of millions of dollars from Starlink terminals operating in war zones. Liskowicz estimates the number to be well over 250,000. In the past, SpaceX reportedly charged the Ukrainian government $2,500 per terminal every month and would stop service if the bills weren't paid. Earlier this month, when U.S. military officials approached SpaceX about network outages in Ukraine, the company recommended moving to an updated contract to restore access to Ukraine, U.S. officials told us. When the war began, Musk seemed willing to help Ukraine defend itself. In the early days, Russia used missile strikes and cyber weapons to cripple Ukraine's digital infrastructure. To keep the country online, Musk has donated thousands of Starlink antennas to various Ukrainian hospitals, power plants, government agencies, and humanitarian organizations. Soon the Ukrainian military began using this service to control UAVs and maintain communications in the combat zone. The service provided a crucial advantage: the Russians had no access to Starlink or the ability to jam its signal, allowing Ukrainian drones to roam freely across the battlefield, dropping bombs on Russian forces.