Starlink, the Elon Musk app that enables users to access SpaceX satellite internet service of the same name, was the most downloaded app in Ukraine on Monday afternoon, March 14, according to data from the Wall Street Journal.
The app has been downloaded nearly 100,000 times in Ukraine according to Sensor Tower, with global downloads tripling in the last two weeks.
Starlink became available in Ukraine days after Russia invaded the country when the country's digital transformation minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, begged Musk via Twitter to provide Ukraine with service-enabled terminals - a request Musk made. head quickly.
The first Tesla email from CNBC last week revealed that the vehicle maker, of which Musk is also CEO, assisted in the rapid two-day delivery of Starlink terminals to Ukraine, offering Tesla battery storage systems to empower them.
Internet interruptions have been a growing problem in Ukraine since Russia began its occupation three weeks ago. The British Ministry of Defense warned last week that Russia "probably" is targeting Ukraine's communications infrastructure, but Internet access could also be shut down due to collateral damage to infrastructure by Russian attacks.
The ministry reported outages in Mariupol, Sumy, Kharkiv and the capital Kiev. The besieged city of Mariupol has been without internet for a week since March 9, NBC News reported based on data from a US-based internet tracking firm.
Forbes reported last week that one of Ukraine's leading internet providers had been hacked several times, though it is unclear whether Russia is directly behind the attacks.
Musk challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to "fight alone" via Twitter on Monday. In a response posted on Twitter, Dmitry Rogozin, director general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, called Musk a "weak" man and a "little devil" in Russian.
Source: Forbes
