In the last hours an apparently threatening phrase “Starlink is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. The whole first line would collapse if I turned it off“Published by Elon Musk On his profile X regarding the presence of the Spacex satellite internet service in Ukraine has rebounded on all the front pages of international news and on social media, generating many controversies.
In February 2022, only two days after the start of the Russian invasion in Ukrainian territory, Tesla’s tycoon announced on X that he would have provided thousands of terminals with Ukraine Starlink To replace the systems destroyed by the Russians during the conflict, which has been continuing for three years now. Following Musk’s proposal, Poland purchased and intended for 20,000 Starrink units at Ukraine (about 50 million dollars a year, to be added to the economic help of the USA, Poland and United Kingdom), supporting the country’s internet connectivity invaded in the hope of stemming the Russian expansion towards the Poles.
Since Musk has landed alongside the American president Donald Trump, however, The air that pulls has changed a bitbecause the president has never hidden his sympathies for the Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Tesla’s CEO decided to align himself with the thought of Tycoon. Starlink’s involvement in Ukrainian military operations worries both, the magnate above all, because it could lead to aescalation in the conflict with Russia of which the Republican Party would like to be ally soon.
In the post published on X Sunday 9 March, Musk wrote:
I literally challenged Putin to a physical combat one against one for Ukraine, and my Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. The whole first line would collapse if I turned it off.
What disgusts me are years of massacres in a stalemate that Ukraine will inevitably lose.
Anyone who really holds us, really think and really understand it wants the mince to stop. Peace now!
The US Secretary of State followed him to wheel Marco Rubiowho hastened to point out that Nobody He threatened to cut Starlink to Ukrainebut without dampening Musk’s threatening tones, and by returning the dose:
And say thanks because without Starlink Ukraine would have lost the war long ago and the Russians would be on the border with Poland now.
The phrases of Musk and Rubio were soon reconndered by many users on social networks, and a few hours after the same billionaire he felt the need to deny what is written, reassuring that Starlink in Ukrainian territory It will not be turned off:
To be extremely clear, no matter how much I don’t agree with Ukrainian politics, Starlink will never turn off its terminals. I am simply stating that, without Starlink, the Ukrainian lines would collapse, since the Russians can block all other communications! We will never do such a thing, nor would we use it as an exchange commodity.
What is Elon Musk’s Starlink and because he is vital for Ukraine
According to the Ukrainian digital minister Mykhailo Fedroovthey would currently be More than 40,000 Starlink terminals in operation on the Ukrainian territory (and 60 thousand only in the Donbass), scattered between military points, hospitals, companies and humanitarian organizations.
In the practical act, these antennas they are really fundamental: intercept the missiles, guide the drones (and they break down the enemies), and are used for the aiming systems of all types of artillery. Not to mention that Starlink is essential for soldiers because it allows them to communicate with family members.
I am literally everywhere On the territory – hidden under camouflage networks, straw, grass rugs – even in the bunkers most devastated by bombing. When (even if for very little) Starlink stops working, it is a big problem, because so far there is nothing able to replace it, and the idea of continuing a war without this service for the Ukrainian front means only one thing: that the loss against the Russians is to be taken for granted.
Because Musk will probably not stop the service in Ukraine
Despite the change of perspective on the Russia-Ukraine front, Musk could hardly implement a service stopand this also applies in the event of an invitation of the conflict. First of all because the magnate is a cautious entrepreneur than it is believed, and is very attentive to profits. Therefore, a CEO that changed his mind depending on the current policy. At the financial level, then, Spacex would be affected, because the contract with Poland brings a lot of money in the pockets of the American company.
