According to Elon Musk, SpaceX’s recent ban on the Ukrainian military’s use of satellite Internet services to control drones was to prevent the conflict from escalating into a world war.
SpaceX CEO Musk Responds to a Former NASA Astronaut’s Request to Restore Full Internet Access for Ukrainian Forces Tweeted Late Sunday: “Starlink is the communications backbone of Ukraine, especially on the front lines, where almost all other internet connections have been destroyed. But we will not enable the escalation of conflict that could lead to WW3.”
The US space agency, founded by a billionaire entrepreneur, has been using its Starlink satellite Internet service to keep Ukraine online since the start of the war, as Ukrainian infrastructure was severely damaged by Russian attacks.
Last week, SpaceX President Gwen Shotwell said the service, which has been used by Ukrainian forces to control drones, was “never intended to produce weapons,” adding that the company had taken steps to prevent its use without spelling out what measures had been taken. taken
“The Ukrainians have treated it in a way that is unintended and not part of any agreement,” Shotwell said.
The news caused an uproar in Ukraine, with Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the president of Ukraine. to tweet Organizations that had to decide whether they were “for Ukraine and for the right to independence” or “the right” [Russia’s] The ‘right’ to kill and occupy parties and territories.
Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told POLITICO that there have been “no problems” with Ukraine’s Starlink terminals so far, adding that these are “saved.”[d] Thousands of lives every day.”
inside Another comment On Sunday, Musk noted that SpaceX’s Internet terminals were “for personal use, not military,” but that the company “has not exercised.” [its] Right to stop them.”
“We’re trying hard to do the right thing, where the ‘right thing’ is a very difficult moral question,” Musk added.
The entrepreneur regularly uses Twitter to express his views on the war in Ukraine.
Last October, he raised concerns among Kyiv and allies after posting a series of tweets Kremlin talking pointss, presenting them as a peace plan. Later that month, Musk said he was no longer willing to pay for Ukraine’s Starlink terminals, and asked the US Department of Defense to pick up the bill instead.