Last February, Mikhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk via Twitter to connect Ukraine to the Internet, and his request appears to have been largely granted.
With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the country faced threats of cyberattacks and Russian bombing that could have disrupted the internet, making a back-up plan all the more necessary.
Within hours, Musk responded that the company's Starlink satellite internet service was "now active in Ukraine" with the promise of "more stations on the way."
Starlink is a unit of Musk's SpaceX.
They use dish-like television stations equipped with antennas, usually rooftops, to access the Internet via satellite in rural or offline areas.
In an interview with the American billionaire published on Friday, The Washington Post reported that the service is working effectively and is connecting Ukraine with the rest of the world.
Thousands of antennas are working in Ukraine
Fedorov said his country had received thousands of "extremely effective" Internet antennas.
"The quality of the connection is excellent, we use thousands of stations with new shipments arriving every day," Fedorov said through an interpreter, using a Starlink connection.
Experts see Starlink's use as a temporary measure for citizens and government to stay connected during wartime as a major test of the relatively new technology, and it could have wide-ranging ramifications for the future of war.
The Internet has become an essential tool to communicate, stay informed, and even operate weapons.
Experts said that internet outages could occur due to power outages or because fiber-optic cables were cut as a result of the bombing.
Starlink technology is used by civilians in attacked areas that have lost Internet access, and by government officials.
Starlink terminals were also made available to help the country's technology companies stay online when war forced them to relocate.
The Times of London reported that a Ukrainian unit was using Starlink to link its drones to attacking Russian forces.
Experts see the use of Starlink as a temporary measure for citizens and government to keep in touch during wartime as a major test of the relatively new technology (Reuters)
Musk: "Salute your boss"
Ironically, the Washington Post reached out to Musk for comment on this story and received a hilarious response, with Musk asking to send his peace to Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, saying, "Greetings to your puppet master, Besuso."
But although he has not commented, this story makes his service very well shown. After all, the service was able to function under conditions of war, and it proved to achieve what Musk wanted, which is to reach those who need it most.
Back in June 2021, Musk said his service would go global within weeks and dedicate itself to helping those most in need.
"You can think of Starlink as bridging the gaps between 5G and fiber," Musk said at the time. It really reaches 3% or 5% of people who need high-speed broadband.