Elon Musk clarifies theory behind disabling Starlink due to Crimea

Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual and renowned tech entrepreneur, has issued a clarifying statement regarding his stance on an “emergency request” from Kyiv to activate the Starlink satellite network over Crimea amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Musk emphasized his reluctance to become embroiled in conflict escalation and described it as a “significant act of war.”

Starlink is a global satellite network comprising over 4,000 satellites that provides services to more than 50 countries. It has played a vital role in facilitating crucial battlefield communications for Kyiv during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In response to claims made in his biography by American author Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk took to Twitter to address the situation. He revealed that an emergency request had been received from Ukraine to activate Starlink over the Russian Navy’s strategic location, Sevastopol.

Musk clarified that SpaceX had not deactivated anything because the Starlink network had not been previously activated in those regions. He pointed out that the apparent intention behind the request was to target a significant portion of the Russian fleet while anchored in the area.

“If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation,” Musk emphasized in his social media statement.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, swiftly responded to the book’s excerpts that became public, expressing his view that “If what Isaacson has written in his book is true, then it looks like [Elon Musk] is the last adequate mind in North America.”

Elon Musk had previously articulated that while Starlink had become an essential communication backbone for Ukraine up to the front lines, he was opposed to the use of Starlink for long-range drone strikes.

He reiterated this point to Walter Isaacson, emphasizing that Starlink was not designed for involvement in wars but rather for peaceful purposes like entertainment, education, and connectivity.

The billionaire entrepreneur had also called for a ceasefire, highlighting that Ukrainians and Russians were losing their lives over the control of relatively small pieces of land, which he deemed not worth the cost in human lives.

Musk’s previous comments had generated criticism, particularly his suggestion to formally recognize Crimea as part of Russia and his proposal to allow residents of regions controlled by Russia to vote on their preferred country affiliation.

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