Zelensky issues direct message to Elon Musk after billionaire demanded President step down
Ukraine's military lost connection to vital Starlink services this week amid raised tensions with the United States, prompting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to issue a direct message to Elon Musk, asking for service to be resumed.
Elon Musk has been supportive of Ukraine's defensive efforts for a number of years now, providing Starlink's internet connection and surveillance services to the front line which have proved vital in the war against Russia.
Those services, alongside intelligence reports from the United States military, abruptly ceased this week after Ukraine issued strikes on a Russian oil refinery, which in turn was likely vital to a new diesel trade agreement between Russia and the United States.
Many, Zelensky included, saw the removal of Starlink services as a retaliation to these strikes from the US government, leading the Ukrainian president to call for action from Musk in a bid to 'save lives'.
Zelensky calls on Musk to restore Starlink services
Speaking in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Zelensky discussed the importance of Starlink and 'Starshield' – a military-grade sister service to Starlink – in the ongoing war effort in Ukraine, and how the removal of those services could prove to be devastating for the nation.
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He outlined that his officers attempted to 'make connection' with both SpaceX and American partners to ask what was going on, wondering if it was merely a technical issue or something much larger, and was met with the possibility of the latter.
Issuing a direct message to Musk, Zelensky declared: "It's a big mistake. It's a lot of losses. This decision will bring a lot of human losses. Of course, people will die. Of course, if attacks will continue and if Starlink will not work, of course, I mean this, it's not helpful.
"So my message is absolutely I hope that it [is a] mistake, maybe huge technical problem, I don't know, but we are asking [Musk] to do it, to switch [Starlink] on, and I think it will be honest, it will be fair, and between partners it has to be."
How has Musk responded to the Starlink shutdown?
While services have reportedly returned in some form to the Ukrainian front line, Musk himself has asserted that he has no control over the decision making process, putting the onus of the initial decision to revoke access and the prospect of returning Starlink and Starshield in the hands of the US government.
Musk outlined that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately [the US president]," as per the BBC, adding that Starlink is for "civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company."
He has on numerous occasions called for Zelensky to be removed as Ukraine's leader, and even called on the United States to exit NATO after past tensions between Ukraine and the White House early last year.