'I did not promise coverage over Crimea': Elon Musk addresses allegations about Starlink amid Ukraine-Russia conflict

Elon Musk has found himself at the centre of a geopolitical conflict between Ukraine and Russia that began in the year 2022. Various reports, based on Elon Musk’s biography written by Walter Isaacson, narrate a series of events where Musk denied connectivity to Ukrainian forces over the Crimean Peninsula. Walter Isaacson has come forward with an explanation about the events. 

In his post, he clarified that the Ukrainians had assumed that Starlink coverage was enabled even in Crimea. However, that was not the case. The reports filed in the past few days suggest that Musk intentionally disabled connectivity in that region. Isaacson denies those claims saying Musk was asked to extend coverage to Crimea, which he denied to avoid a major war. 

Isaacson said, “To clarify on the Starlink issue: the Ukrainians THOUGHT coverage was enabled all the way to Crimea, but it was not. They asked Musk to enable it for their drone sub-attack on the Russian fleet. Musk did not enable it, because he thought, probably correctly, that would cause a major war.”

Elon Musk responded to Isaacson’s Tweet with appreciation for the clarification. He said, “Much appreciated, Walter. The onus is meaningfully different if I refused to act upon a request from Ukraine vs. made a deliberate change to Starlink to thwart Ukraine. “

He further explained that what Ukrainian authorities demanded went against the policies of Starlink. He said, “At no point did I or anyone at SpaceX promise coverage over Crimea. Moreover, our terms of service clearly prohibit Starlink for offensive military action, as we are a civilian system, so they were again asking for something that was expressly prohibited.”

He also highlighted the difference between Starlink and Starshield which is being built by SpaceX for the US government. He said, “SpaceX is building Starshield for the US government, which is similar to, but much smaller than Starlink, as it will not have to handle millions of users. That system will be owned and controlled by the US government.”

Much appreciated, Walter.

The onus is meaningfully different if I refused to act upon a request from Ukraine vs. made a deliberate change to Starlink to thwart Ukraine.

At no point did I or anyone at SpaceX promise coverage over Crimea.

Moreover, our terms of service clearly… https://t.co/jmNtScM5LY

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2023

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