“There’ve been some kind of competing claims on who — who has paid for Starlink so far. Has it been privately donated, or has this been — has this been U.S. government-funded primarily?” the reporter said.
“I’ve seen the open-source reporting out there that there have been donations from — I think it was characterized as different partners. I don’t have more for you on that at this time.
“Again, in terms of what this department decides to do, in terms of a SATCOM capability needed for Ukraine, I don’t have anything to announce of further assistance at this time,” the spokeswoman said.
“Just to follow up on that — Okay, so without getting into the private donations, has there been U.S. government funding for this to date?” the reporter said.
“From here, I’m not aware — I’m not sure what payment has been — if any, has been made, so I would have to get back to you on that, but again, what we are doing right now and what the department is doing is we are working with the Ukraine Ministry of Defense. We know that there is this demand and SATCOM capability is needed and we want to be able to ensure that there is stable communication for the Ukrainian forces and for Ukraine. And so that’s why we’re working and we’re going to work with our partners and allies to look at all options on how best we can support those identified by Ukraine,” the spokeswoman said.
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