Zelensky claims 'people will die' after overnight Starlink limits as Musk blames Trump
While Elon Musk and President Donald Trump seem to be on much better terms following their explosive fallout last year, the world's richest man risks reopening old wounds. The world watched with its jaws agape when the tech mogul spectacularly claimed the President of the United States was named in the Epstein files.
The world's richest man and Commander-in-Chief appear to have buried the hatchet, with the former appearing at the president's AI summit that included some of the biggest names in tech.
Now, Elon Musk appears to be shifting blame to Donald Trump, claiming the POTUS might’ve been interfering with his Starlink network in Ukraine.
Ukraine's war with Russia has raged on since 2022, and as many predicted, things have moved into a field of new technological warfare. This was recently highlighted when Ukrainian drone attacks took out two Russian data centers and affected everything from banking to mobile networks.
How is Starlink connected to the Russia-Ukraine war?
Advert
There have been complaints that Elon Musk's Starlink network has been providing internet to Ukraine's military, which in turn has been used to attack Russia.
At the core of the latest argument is Starshield, which is a military-grade offshoot of Starlink and reportedly controlled by the US government.
Ukraine's military complained that its Starlink terminals moving at speeds over 160km/h had been hobbled, and as Kyiv has many SpaceX Starlink receptors installed as part of onboard guidance systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared his concerns with the media.
Discussing the situation, Zelenskyy said: "I hope that it's a mistake, maybe [a] huge technical problem. I don't know, but we are asking to... switch [it] on."
Alleging that the timing is no coincidence as it comes alongside strained tensions between Kyiv and Washington, Zelenskyy appealed for Starlink to rectify the situation.
Seemingly passing the buck, Musk posted on X and explained: "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."
Zelenskyy delivered his own barb when he told Piers Morgan Uncensored how he feels 'betrayed' by recent developments.
Claiming that Kyiv had stopped receiving warnings from allies about missile attacks, he returned to the idea of Musk imposing restrictions on Starlink: "I am sure they knew what they did, absolutely. Because it was 1am at night, Starlink was blocked by SpaceX and the United States.
Addressing Musk directly, Zelenskyy concluded: "This decision will bring a lot of human losses. Of course, people will die."
What has Elon Musk said about Ukraine's use of Starlink?
While Musk denies being behind Ukraine's Starlink limitations, Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski says he's “playing politics."
The system has been partially restored as of October 14, with Ukraine's former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov taking to X to thank Musk for his 'continued support' and adding: "Removing Starshield's speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine's defense."
Musk has previously vowed not to get involved, stating: "No matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals... We would never do such a thing or use it as a bargaining chip.”
He has since reiterated 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."
Making his stance clear, the billionaire then shared a post from a user on X that read: "SpaceX is a private company with zero obligation to help Ukraine, yet it stepped up when governments dragged their feet.”
It's not just a war between Russia and Ukraine that rages on, as President Trump has said it's time for Ukraine to get "a new president."
Always keen to get the final word, Musk has since written: "And so the slaughter continues...Time for Zelensky to go."
It seems it's not just Russia and Ukraine fighting with each other.