Elon Musk Lashes Out At Ex-NASA Astronaut Over Starlink Use In Ukraine: 'Will Not Enable Escalation Of Conflict That May Lead To WW3'

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Sunday defended his stance after restricting the use of Starlink satellite internet for drones in Ukraine. 

What Happened: Musk on Sunday told former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly that Starlink is supporting Ukraine but the recent restrictions were brought in over worries that it could lead to "World War 3".

Kelly, on Saturday, in a tweet, asked Musk to “restore the full functionality” of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites in Ukraine. “Defense from a genocidal invasion is not an offensive capability. It’s survival. Innocent lives will be lost. You can help,” Kelly tweeted.

Replying to Kelly, Musk said he was smart enough to “not swallow media & other propaganda bs.” 

Musk added that Starlink has been the “communication backbone” of Ukraine, “especially at the frontlines.” “But we will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3.” 

In a separate tweet, Musk also argued that Starlink terminals are designed for private use, not military purposes, “but we have not exercised our right to turn them off.”

The billionaire said his company was trying to do the right thing, but this was an “extremely difficult moral question.” 

On Monday, Kelly added that “credible first-person reports from the frontlines indicate Starlink is being restricted even for military comm. Precision strike in defense of sovereignty is not escalatory.”

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, criticized Musk last week after SpaceX COO announced steps to prevent its Starlink satellite communications service from controlling drones.

Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Check out more of Benzinga’s Europe and Asia coverage by following this link.