Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, announced that the decision to limit the Ukrainian army’s ability to use the internet connection provided by the satellite was made to prevent the war from spreading around the world, writes Politico.
In response to a call by a former NASA astronaut to restore full internet access to the Ukrainian military, Musk wrote on Twitter that Starlink is a very important part of Ukraine’s communications system, but the company does not want to be involved in escalating the conflict.
Since the beginning of the war, the company founded by a US billionaire has been allowing the use of its Starlink satellites to provide internet in Ukraine. Last week, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the satellite internet used by Ukrainians to control drones was not intended for militarization and added that the company had taken steps to limit Internet use. Shotwell said:
“Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement.”
The news caused outrage in Ukraine. Mihailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote on Twitter that companies should decide which side they stand on.
In another Twitter post, Musk indicated that the Starlink terminals are intended for private, not military, use, but the company has not exercised its right to disable communications.
Last October, Musk sent Kyiv and its allies into a frenzy when he published a series of Twitter posts using Kremlin rhetoric as points of a peace plan.
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