Musk: Ukraine's front line would collapse without Starlink
Elon Musk (photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine's front line would collapse immediately without the Starlink satellite system, which is critical to the country's defense, US billionaire Elon Musk said.
According to him, using a civilian commercial service to carry out offensive drone strikes was never authorized.
He noted that the Ukrainian forces had violated the terms of service, prompting the company to close the loophole last week.
At the same time, Musk emphasized the satellite network's crucial role for Ukrainian forces.
"Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. This is not a threat, it is simply a statement of fact," the businessman said.
The SpaceX founder said his company has done more to defend Ukraine than any other private organization in the world.
At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Starlink helped prevent Ukraine from being overrun when other communications systems were destroyed or blocked by Russian forces.
At the same time, he added that the US government controls the military Starshield system and decides how it is used.
As previously reported, Elon Musk recently criticized the Ukrainian authorities, accusing the country's elites of allegedly "growing very rich" off wartime aid and US politicians of using financial aid to Ukraine for their own campaigns.
In addition, Reuters reported that US administrations had repeatedly asked SpaceX over the years to enable or restrict access to the Starlink network in various regions around the world, including Ukraine.
