KYIV, Ukraine—Elon Musk said the cost of maintaining Starlink terminals in Ukraine is approaching $20 million a month and SpaceX can’t fund the service indefinitely.
The Starlink terminals, produced by Mr. Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, have played a crucial role in maintaining Ukraine’s communications during the war with Russia. The terminals are deployed on hundreds of Ukrainian military outposts around the front lines, allowing commanders to call in artillery strikes and to coordinate operations in areas where mobile-phone services are disabled or jammed by Russia.