For many, Elon Musk is the closest, real-life equivalent to Marvel’s Tony Stark. Tesla and SpaceX’s founder may have his detractors, but he’s always had a knack to turn up with solutions when least expected. 

© Elon Musk

The war between Russia and Ukraine has dominated headlines over the past few days, and for good reasons. Russian premier, Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has been met with global derision, with hundreds of casualties already being reported.  

Prior to this recent campaign, the conflict between the two neighbouring states was last seen in 2014, following the deposing of the pro-Russian president, which prompted Putin to invade and seize large parts of the east, while also claiming 14 thousand innocent lives in the process.  

In light of these trying times, Elon Musk announced that the Starlink satellite broadband service provided by his company, SpaceX has been activated in Ukraine after a Kyiv official had requested the Tesla founder for assistance. 

@elonmusk, while you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.

Mykhailo Fedorov had tweeted, "While you try to colonize Mars -- Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space -- Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations.”

The plea for action and help directed towards Elon Musk did not go unheeded, with the tech titan responding via a tweet, "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine,", adding "more terminals en route."

Starlink’s network consists of a constellation of over 2,000 satellites that are designed to provide internet access across the globe.

On Friday SpaceX launched a further 50 Starlink satellites to ensure uninterrupted services, with several more scheduled to be launched into the Earth's orbit.  

Musk’s response, although 10 hours belated, does help the Ukrainians maintain communications, which is crucial at a time when serious disruptions have been caused to their infrastructure by the Russian invasion. 

© Elon Musk

NetBlocks, a watchdog organization that monitors cybersecurity and the governance of the Internet, said that Ukraine had seen a "series of significant disruptions to internet service" since Thursday when its neighbour Russia had begun the military campaign against the country.

Mykhailo Fedorov, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, also implored Musk "to address sane Russians to stand" against their government's invasion.

According to a report by a United Nations relief agency, at least 64 civilians have lost their lives, and more than 1,60,000 have been displaced since the beginning of the Russian campaign. We hope peace talks ensue swiftly, with further losses to life avoided at all costs. 

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