Starlink activation rejected
Musk comments on prevented attack on Russian fleet
September 8, 2023, 5:27 p.m
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As a communications system, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service plays a role in Ukraine’s defense in the war against Russia. Now the tech billionaire confirms that the Ukrainians asked him for help in an attack on Sevastopol – and he refused.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk says he prevented a Ukrainian attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the port city of Sevastopol. Musk wrote on his online platform X (formerly Twitter) that he rejected a request from the Ukrainian government to activate his company SpaceX’s Starlink satellite communications system in the region. “Their apparent intention was to sink most of the anchored fleet,” he wrote. SpaceX would have been involved in a major act of war and escalation, Musk explained his decision.
Musk made the comments after publishing an excerpt from the tech entrepreneur’s upcoming biography in the “Washington Post“. After conversations with Musk, his biographer Walter Isaacson wrote that Musk had the Starlink coverage around Crimea switched off in September 2022 so that Ukrainian underwater drones loaded with explosives could not reach their target. This account from the book published on Tuesday was contradicted Musk at X
“The Starlink regions in question were not activated. SpaceX did not deactivate anything,” he wrote. The six Ukrainian underwater drones went off course without the Starlink connection, according to the excerpt in the Washington Post. They landed on the bank without causing any damage. Musk feared that Russia could respond to such an attack with nuclear weapons.
The news channel CNN also reported on the incident based on the biography. Musk is the boss and large shareholder of the space company SpaceX, which operates the Starlink system for internet connections from space. After the Russian attack on Ukraine in February, SpaceX provided Ukraine with numerous Starlink terminals and did not charge any fees for their operation. They played a key role in ensuring that the country was able to coordinate its defense while the Russian military targeted its communications infrastructure.
Offensive weapon or crucial means of communication?
The government in Kiev, aid organizations and civilians, but above all the Ukrainian army, are urgently dependent on the Starlink devices manufactured by SpaceX as an important means of communication. The service is also used by the Ukrainian armed forces to control drones and correct artillery fire.
According to the contract, Starlink is only intended for humanitarian purposes, said Gwynne Shotwell, President of the manufacturer SpaceX in February. The supply of the network was “never intended to be used as a weapon,” Shotwell emphasized at the 25th Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington. In the past, Ukrainian troops have repeatedly complained about failures in communication via Elon Musk’s company’s Starlink satellites. Over time, Musk and SpaceX top manager Gwynne Shotwell became dissatisfied with the fact that Ukraine was using Starlink for offensive combat operations while the company was covering the costs.
There is now a contract with the Pentagon, which books Starlink capacities. Last year, Musk also proposed a peace plan for Ukraine, which included, among other things, the country giving up Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 in violation of international law. He also spoke out in favor of referendums in the areas occupied by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine aims to return all occupied territories. Musk also claimed in conversations with Pentagon officials that he had spoken to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. Isaacson, however, told Musk that the communication went through the Russian ambassador to the USA.