Elon Musk Claims He Delayed Starlink in Crimea to Prevent Escalation

Elon Musk has stated that he refused to grant access to his Starlink communications network to Kyiv over Crimea, as he did not want to be involved in what he considered to be a "major act of war." Kyiv had requested emergency access to Starlink in Sevastopol, a major Russian navy port. These comments came in response to a book that claimed Musk had turned off Starlink to hinder a drone attack on Russian ships. A senior Ukrainian official accused Musk of enabling Russian attacks and criticized him for "committing evil." Musk stated that by not allowing Ukrainian drones to destroy part of the Russian military fleet via Starlink interference, he unintentionally allowed Russian naval vessels to launch missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. The biography that prompted this controversy alleged that Musk deactivated Ukraine's access to Starlink out of fear that an attack on Russia's naval fleet in Crimea could provoke a nuclear response from Russia. Ukraine had targeted Russian ships in Sevastopol with submarine drones carrying explosives, but they lost connection to Starlink and caused no damage. Starlink terminals have been crucial in maintaining internet connectivity and communication in Ukraine during the conflict. SpaceX, in which Musk is the largest shareholder, began supplying thousands of Starlink satellite dishes to Ukraine after Russia's assault on the country began in February 2022. Musk clarified that SpaceX did not deactivate anything in response to the book's claim, as Starlink had not been activated in those regions. He stated that agreeing to the request to activate Starlink in Sevastopol would make SpaceX complicit in a major act of war. Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former prime minister, commented on the situation, suggesting that Musk was the last reasonable mind in North America if the book's claims were true. It's important to note that Russia unlawfully annexed Crimea in 2014 and subsequently invaded Ukraine. Musk had previously mentioned that while Starlink is crucial for maintaining connectivity in Ukraine, it was not meant for long-range drone strikes. Musk called for a truce between Ukrainians and Russians, stating that they were dying for small pieces of land that were not worth their lives. Last year, Musk's proposal to end the war included recognizing Crimea as part of Russia and allowing residents of seized regions to vote on their desired country, which sparked controversy. Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov criticized Musk's plan, calling it "moral idiocy."