Ukraine officials are criticizing Elon Musk for withholding internet access to the Ukrainian military through his company, Starlink.
Ukraine officials are expressing strong criticism of Elon Musk, accusing him of withholding internet access to the Ukrainian military through his company, Starlink. Conversely, Russia is praising Musk’s decision.
What Happened: Musk barred access to Starlink, a part of SpaceX, during a critical Ukrainian offensive against Russia last year, as reported earlier, citing the upcoming biography. Musk stated that he did not want to be “complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”
“By not allowing Ukrainian drones to destroy part of the Russian military fleet via Starlink interference, Elon Musk allowed this fleet to fire Kalibr missiles at Ukrainian cities,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, The Hill reported.
While Ukraine criticizes Musk, Russian leaders, including former President Dmitry Medvedev, are lauding his decision, calling him "the last adequate mind in North America” and "the one with the ba**s."
The book, which mentions the incident, also includes text exchanges between Musk and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov about the systems. Fedorov praised Musk for making Starlink available, stating that without it, “we just wouldn't be able to fight like this.”
Although Fedorov told the Financial Times that he did not consent to his messages being shared. "It's not very pretty," Fedorov said.
"I've never shown or talked about our correspondence publicly."
Starlink’s influence on the war in Ukraine has been significant, aiding Ukraine’s advances, though they have been curtailed by Musk’s insistence that it not be used for offensive operations into Russia.
A forthcoming Musk biography, set to be released on Sept.12, will detail Musk’s refusal to allow the Ukrainian military to use Starlink internet service for a raid on the Russian navy.
This came after Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder, criticized Musk for buying into Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s perspective on the Ukraine war. Musk had previously suggested negotiating peace with Putin and faced backlash for a tweet proposing Ukraine surrender territory to Russia.
Read Next: Elon Musk Vs. Gavin Newsom: X Corp. Sues California’s Content Moderation Law
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