Elon Musk’s intervention in the Russia-Ukraine war

In the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Elon Musk and his Starlink satellite internet service have been of critical importance. Starlink, owned by SpaceX, provided a digital lifeline for soldiers and civilians in Ukraine.

But in a forthcoming biography of famed businessman Elon Musk, Musk’s admission that he refused to use satellite internet service to prevent Ukraine’s drone attack on a Russian naval fleet last year has sparked a backlash.

Walter Isaacson’s upcoming book claims that Elon Musk ordered the shutdown of the Starlink satellite service near the Crimean coast last September to thwart the Ukrainian attack. It was written that Musk was concerned that an attack on Crimea could escalate into a nuclear conflict.

POISON WORDS FROM UKRAINIAN OFFICIAL TO MUSK

Musk also made some remarks on social media platform X, which he bought last year. The famous businessman claimed that he did not deactivate the service, but rather refused to comply with the emergency request of the Ukrainian authorities to activate Starlink connections in the occupied Crimean peninsula: “If I had accepted your request, SpaceX would have been openly complicit in a great act of war and escalation of conflicts”.

However, Musk’s move was met with an angry reaction from Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Podolyak claimed that Musk’s intervention allowed the Russian naval fleet to continue firing on Ukrainian cities: “Civilians and children die as a result.”
In his Podolyak post, he interpreted Musk’s move as ego and ignorance.

A few days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Musk sent Starlink terminals to the country in response to a request from the Ukrainian authorities. The connectivity that Starlink provided during the war was critical for Ukraine to coordinate drone strikes and gather intelligence.

Hospitals, companies and charities across Ukraine also use more than 42,000 Starlink terminals.