There's no "conspiracy theory" here - it's standard political and military strategy. Owning the communication infrastructure of another country is the wet dream

There's no "conspiracy theory" here - it's standard political and military strategy. Owning the communication infrastructure of another country is the wet dream of any super-power. (The internet today allows that to a certain extent, to the US). But Starlink's role in Ukraine is unique as they provide and own the complete (end-to-end) communication infrastructure. This means that the US has unhindered access to every data that flows through Starlink in Ukraine. Yes, military communication will be encrypted. But if the US has provided the hardware and software, they obviously will have the encryption keys. The US is an ally of Ukraine and is providing them valuable political support and equipment. Do you think the Ukrainian care right now if the US is monitoring their communication, when they need the US to defend themselves? In fact, the US is very likely using this info to give them advise on military tactics. Anyway, my whole point is that thanks to Starlink in Ukraine, the US intelligence and military have a bird's eye view of how the Ukranians are fighting the Russians. And that is why I believe the US government is definitely paying Starlink. And if they are paying them under the table, like many intelligence or military operations abroad are done, they won't be public knowledge. It is also in their interest (as part of information warfare) to make it seem like a rich billionaire is generously supporting Ukraine.