Tech billionaire Elon Musk Photo: GONZALO FUENTES/REUTERS
Elon Musk “committed evil” by refusing to give Ukrainian forces access to his satellite Starlink network for a planned naval drone strike in the Black Sea, Vladimir Zelensky's top adviser said.
“Sometimes a mistake is much more than just a mistake,” wrote Mikhail Podolyak on X, a platform owned by tech billionaire and formerly known as Twitter.
“By preventing Ukrainian drones from destroying part of the Russian navy through Starlink jamming, Elon Musk allowed that fleet to fire Kalibr missiles at Ukrainian cities,” he said.
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Condemning this decision as a “price.” a mixture of ignorance and big ego,” Mr. Podolyak added: “Why are some people so desperate to protect war criminals and their desire to commit murder? And do they now realize that they are doing evil and encouraging evil? , because he feared that the attack could provoke a nuclear response from Russian President Vladimir Putin.»
The «constellation» of satellites operated by his firm SpaceX were used by the Ukrainian military during the war to coordinate drone and artillery strikes, stream battlefield video and gather intelligence.
Mr Musk responded to the claims, made in a new biography of South African-born billionaire Walter Isaacson called Elon Musk.
His concerns about nuclear escalation increased after conversations with Kremlin officials, Mr. Isaacson wrote.
Mr. Musk was reportedly concerned that a strike on the Russian navy would be considered in Moscow as a «mini-Pearl Harbor» moment for the conflict, an allusion to the Japanese attack on the US naval base that emboldened Washington. join World War II.
Sometimes a mistake is more than just a mistake. By preventing Ukrainian drones from destroying part of the Russian military (!) fleet through the intervention of #Starlink, @elonmusk allowed this fleet to fire Caliber missiles at Ukrainian cities. As a result, civilians, children…
— Mikhailo Podolyak (@Podolyak_M) September 7, 2023 “Major act of war”
Musk, 52, previously said he did not want Starlink to be used for long-range offensive strikes.
But in his first public appearance on Ukraine's call for access to Crimea, he said Thursday that there was an «emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol.»
The apparent intention was to sink most of Russian fleet at anchor,” Mr. Musk wrote.
“If I had agreed to their request, SpaceX would have clearly been involved in a major act of war and escalation.” «
The tech billionaire also denied deactivating Starlink around Crimea, claiming it was never activated near the peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.
The satellite terminals donated by Mr. Musk have become vital to Ukraine's military communications.
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But the 52-year-old entrepreneur, who has sole control of the Starlink system, has reportedly repeatedly restricted access to it during the war.
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Last year he was sharply criticized for publishing a “peace plan” for Ukraine, which proposed new sovereignty referendums under United Nations supervision in regions occupied by Russia.
Ukraine was also forced. ask the United States to mediate relations with Musk, who has previously been accused of “pro-Kremlin” views after his military had Starlink power cut off.
From government agencies an emergency request was made to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol.
The obvious intention was to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor.
If I agreed to their request, then SpaceX would clearly be involved in a major act of war and…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 7, 2023 “Misconception”
Ultimately, in June, Washington struck a deal with SpaceX to guarantee Kiev unlimited access to the satellite Internet system for the foreseeable future.
Mr Musk's intervention in the war has raised questions about his influence on the conflict as a private citizen.
Emil Castelmi, an open source intelligence analyst with the volunteer group Black Bird, said: «Damaging and destroying some ships in a combat zone is not enough for a nuclear war.»
«It appears that especially outside of Europe, people , seem to have a misconception about what the threshold for nuclear war actually is. This course of action only allows Russians to act more freely.”
The controversy over the Crimean incident comes amid allegations by Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, that Musk passed on confidential texts containing conversations to his biographer. concerning restrictions on Starlink services.
Mr Fedorov told the Financial Times on Friday that he was not aware that Mr Isaacson had received and published the messages in his upcoming biography of Mr Musk.
One exchange included in the book shows Mr. Fedorov pleading with the entrepreneur to restore Starlink service to Kiev troops.
“I understand why he published it because I tell him how great he is.” and he must save humanity. «, Mr. Fedorov told the newspaper.
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