Elon Musk activates SpaceX Starlink service over Ukraine
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Elon Musk has defended his decision to ban the use of Starlink satellites to operate weapons, warning that such escalation of conflict could lead to World War III. Last week the SpaceX CEO told Ukraine that it can no longer use his internet satellites to control drones after accusing Ukrainians of leveraging the service “in ways that were unintentional part of any agreement”. Since February 2022, the billionaire had been providing Ukraine with critical internet services through the Starlink satellites as Russian troops descended on their neighbouring country in a brutal invasion that has claimed millions of lives.
SpaceX’s President, Gwynne Shotwell, said just days ago at an event that the service which the Ukrainian military has been using to control drones was “never meant to be weaponised”.
Ms Shotwell referred to reports that the Ukrainian military has been using the Starlink internet service to control drones used to combat Russian forces.
She added: “Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement. There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that. There are things that we can do, and have done.”
According to Starlink’s terms of service, the satellite constellation “is not designed or intended for use with or in offensive or defensive weaponry or other comparable end-uses.”
Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite internet constellation, which is currently active in over 47 countries but aims to provide internet coverage globally through a massive constellation of more than 12,000 satellites in low Earth orbit.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the entrepreneur has provided over 22,000 Starlink dish antennas to Kyiv, which have been deployed in settings from governmental buildings, hospitals and schools to provide essential internet access after communications were disrupted due to the war.
Elon Musk’s decision to limit Starlink’s usage to communications only prompted criticism online, with former astronaut Scott Kelly urging the billionaire to restore full capabilities.
Mr Kelly tweeted: “@elonmusk Ukraine desperately needs your continued support. Please restore the full functionality of your Starlink satellites. Defence from a genocidal invasion is not an offensive capability. It’s survival. Innocent lives will be lost. You can help. Thank you.”
Elon Musk then replied: “Starlink is the communication backbone of Ukraine, especially at the front lines, where almost all other internet connectivity has been destroyed. But we will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3.”
In a separate tweet, he clarified that the Ukrainian military was not banned from using Starlink satellites, and they can continue to be used for communications purposes on the frontlines of the conflict.
He said: “SpaceX commercial terminals, like other commercial products, are meant for private use, not military, but we have not exercised our right to turn them off. We’re trying hard to do the right thing, where the “right thing” is an extremely difficult moral question.”
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Mr Musk has previously warned that his decision to support Ukriane’s defense against Russian troops may led to him “mysteriously dying”, after he was threatened by senior Kremlin officials.
Last May he tweeted: “If I die under mysterious circumstances, it’s been nice knowing you.” The SpaceX CEO’s glib but grim comment came after he shared a statement said to be from former Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin.
Translated from Russian, the text began: “…it turns out that the internet terminals of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite company were delivered to the militants of the Nazi Azov Battalion and the Ukrainian Marines in Mariupol by military helicopters.”
The statement continues: “According to our information, the delivery of the Starlink equipment was carried out by the Pentagon.Elon Musk, thus, is involved in supplying the fascist forces in Ukraine with military communication equipment. And for this, Elon, you will be held accountable like an adult — no matter how much you’ll play the fool.”
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