The vice prime minister of Ukraine has called on Elon Musk to assist amid Russia's invasion.
As Russian military forces continue to advance in Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov
- the country's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine - has called on the SpaceX founder for help.
In a Twitter exchange on Saturday (February 26), Fedorov tagged Musk, writing: "@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."
The call for help was backed up by the country of Ukraine's official Twitter account. Sharing Federov's tweet, it added: "Dear @elonmusk [...] Ukraine needs your support. Your stance and your actions matter.
"An appeal by our Minister of Digital Transformation here."
Fedorov's call comes as many Ukrainian civilians were left without an internet connection, The Independent reports.
However, in response to the call for assistance, 50-year-old Musk said that he has successfully provided Starlink service over Ukraine.
"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route," Musk tweeted in reply.
Musk's Starlink service provides users with a broadband connection without the need for fiber optic cable connectivity.
In celebration of Musk's assistance, Federov shared a follow-up tweet, in which he wrote: "Starlink terminals are coming to Ukraine! Thank you @elonmusk, thank you everyone, who supported Ukraine!"
Additionally, the official Ukrainian Twitter page replied: "thanx, appreciate it".
The Independent reports that SpaceX has launched over 2,000 Starlink satellites into orbit since 2018, with the aim of one day having as many as 12,000 satellites providing a high-speed internet network for users on Earth.
After seeing Musk's compliance with Ukraine, American businessmen and TV producer Jeremy Padawer wrote: "TRANSLATION - 'Ukraine people have access to the fastest satellite internet system ever created. Russia can not disable the Ukrainian internet access fully without cyber attacking foreign data centers.'"
The news comes as unrest has continued throughout the night in Ukraine, per CNN.
The outlet reports that there has been heavy gunfire throughout the western district of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Saturday evening, resulting in the death of a six-year-old boy.
Additionally, a woman was killed after a residential building in the eastern city of Kharkiv was hit by "enemy artillery, Ukraine's state emergency service reported.
Early Sunday morning, two large explosions were seen roughly 18 miles south of Kyiv.
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