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Elon Musk Explains Why Kiev's Use of Starlink Was Restricted
Elon Musk Explains Why Kiev's Use of Starlink Was Restricted
Sputnik Africa
Starlink is a satellite internet service – a network of more than 2,000 satellites orbiting the Earth that communicate with thousands of terminals on the... 09.09.2023, Sputnik Africa
2023-09-09T17:55+0200
2023-09-09T17:55+0200
2023-09-09T17:55+0200
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American businessman Elon Musk has revealed on Saturday the reason behind his company's decision to reject Kiev's request to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of the Starlink satellite communications service in the Crimea region.The South African-born business magnate stressed that Starlink is a civilian company and its products should not be used to carry out attacks against any people, including Russians.Billionaire Musk was criticized by Ukraine after revealing that he had prevented a major attack on the Russian navy in the Black Sea near Crimea.The entrepreneur also confirmed the words of American journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson, who is writing a forthcoming biography of the South African-American entrepreneur and initially revealed the Starlink blocking information himself.Musk explained that the coverage of Starlink satellite service in the Republic of Crimea, which is a federal subject of Russia, was never promised. The Crimean Peninsula, which seceded from Ukraine following a referendum in 2014, has been one of the targets of a recent military offensive launched by Kiev against Russia.Musk added, "our terms of service clearly prohibit Starlink for offensive military action, as we are a civilian system, so they were again asking for something that was expressly prohibited."The Starlink satellite internet service, operated by Musk's company SpaceX, had been deployed in Ukraine shortly after the start of the Russian military operation in the country in February 2022. Later that year, Musk cut off Ukrainian forces' access to Starlink satellite communications to prevent them from attacking Crimea.According to Walter Isaacson, the Ukrainian submarine drones were already near the Russian ships when the Starlink connection was lost. The drones landed on the coast without doing any damage to their assigned targets.
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Elon Musk Explains Why Kiev's Use of Starlink Was Restricted
Muhammad Nooh Osman
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Starlink is a satellite internet service – a network of more than 2,000 satellites orbiting the Earth that communicate with thousands of terminals on the ground. Musk's company SpaceX sent Starlink terminals to Ukraine shortly after the start of the Russian military operation in the country in February 2022.
American businessman Elon Musk has revealed on Saturday the reason behind his company's decision to reject Kiev's request to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of the Starlink satellite communications service in the Crimea region.
The South African-born business magnate stressed that Starlink is a civilian company and its products should not be
used to carry out attacks against any people, including Russians.
Billionaire Musk was criticized by Ukraine after revealing that he had prevented a major attack on the Russian navy in the Black Sea near Crimea.
"I want to help humans, not kill them," Mush said in a statement on his social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter.
The entrepreneur also confirmed the words of American journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson, who is writing a forthcoming biography of the South African-American entrepreneur and initially revealed the Starlink blocking information himself.
"To clarify on the Starlink issue: the Ukrainians THOUGHT coverage was enabled all the way to Crimea, but it was not," Isaacson said. "They asked Musk to enable it for their drone sub attack on the Russian fleet. Musk did not enable it, because he thought, probably correctly, that would cause a major war."
Musk explained that the coverage of Starlink satellite service in the Republic of Crimea, which is a federal subject of Russia, was never promised. The Crimean Peninsula, which seceded from Ukraine following a referendum in 2014, has been
one of the targets of a recent military offensive launched by Kiev against Russia.
"The onus is meaningfully different if I refused to act upon a request from Ukraine vs. made a deliberate change to Starlink to thwart Ukraine," he clarified. "At no point did I or anyone at SpaceX promise coverage over Crimea."
Musk added, "our terms of service clearly prohibit Starlink for offensive military action, as we are a civilian system, so they were again asking for something that was expressly
prohibited."
The Starlink satellite internet service, operated by Musk's company SpaceX, had been deployed in Ukraine shortly after the start of the Russian military operation in the country in February 2022. Later that year, Musk
cut off Ukrainian forces' access to Starlink satellite communications to prevent them from attacking Crimea.
According to Walter Isaacson, the Ukrainian submarine drones were already near the Russian ships when the Starlink connection was lost. The drones landed on the coast without doing any damage to their assigned targets.
