Cabinet exempts Starlink satellite equipment from VAT, customs duty.

Starlink, a satellite internet constellation operated by tech billionaire Elon Musk's spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, has been crucial for providing communications for the Ukrainian military, as well as for energy, telecommunications, healthcare, and agricultural facilities in Ukraine. 

“(The Cabinet's decision) will reduce their cost and make it possible to provide them to as many people and organizations as possible,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. 

He added that the government is negotiating the purchase of thousands of Starlink systems for “invincibility centers.” 

So-called “invincibility centers” are places where Ukrainians can access electricity, mobile phone connections, heat, water, and first aid, free of charge and twenty-four hours a day. According to Shhmyhal, the government aims to supply each center with a Starlink unit to provide people with an uninterrupted Internet connection. 

Following a Russian attack on the country’s energy infrastructure on Nov. 23 that caused blackouts in all Ukrainian regions, the authorities set up 4,000 "invincibility centers", according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

The government also included components for manufacturing energy equipment and water purification products in the list of goods eligible for tax incentives, the Economy Ministry reported. 

Earlier, generators, batteries, and other equipment “helping the country survive the energy crisis" were freed from VAT and import duty, according to the ministry.