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Elon Musk hints he stopped nuclear war, told Ukraine no on using Starlink to attack Russia: Story in 5 points

Billionaire Elon Musk shut down his Starlink satellite network near the Crimean coast to prevent a potential Ukrainian drone attack on Russian warships reveals a new biography by Walter Isaacson. Reportedly, Musk took these actions out of fear of war escalation, considering Ukraine was potentially threatening a "strategic defeat" on Russia leading to Russian's nuclear response.

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File photo of CEO of X (formerly known as Twitter), Elon Musk | Reuters

In Short

  • Elon Musk reportedly shut down his Starlink satellite communications network to avoid a potential Ukrainian drone attack on Russian warships.
  • The biography suggests that Musk acted out of fear that Ukraine's attack on Russian-controlled Crimea would invite nuclear retaliation from Vladimir Putin.
  • Musk declined Ukraine's request to restore Starlink communications, arguing that its actions were inviting strategic defeat.

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, reportedly ordered the shutdown of his Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast in a bid to prevent a potential Ukrainian drone attack on Russian warships. This revelation comes from a new biography about Musk, authored by Walter Isaacson and quoted by CNN. The biography details how armed submarine drones were on their way to their targets when they suddenly lost connectivity and ended up stranded harmlessly on the shore.

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–The incident came to light when a tweet claimed that Elon Musk had prevented a nuclear war by secretly instructing his engineers to deactivate Starlink's satellite communications during a major Ukrainian offensive. Musk responded to this claim by stating that there was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol. He believed that the intent behind this request was to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor, potentially leading to a major act of war and conflict escalation in which SpaceX would be complicit.

–The biography, set to be released soon, alleges that Musk took this action out of concern that Vladimir Putin might respond with nuclear weapons if Ukraine attacked Russian-occupied Crimea. Musk expressed the view that Ukraine was pushing too far by threatening a "strategic defeat" on the Kremlin. While Musk had initially agreed to supply Starlink hardware to Ukraine after Russia's invasion disrupted their communications, he had second thoughts when Ukraine successfully repelled the initial Russian assault and began to counterattack.

–In an interview with Walter Isaacson, Musk questioned his involvement in the war, emphasizing that Starlink was not designed for military purposes but rather to provide internet access for peaceful activities like watching Netflix, education, and other non-violent pursuits.Despite these revelations, neither Musk's social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter), nor SpaceX, his aerospace company, provided any comments or responses to inquiries.

–At the time of the submarine drone attack, one of Ukraine's deputy prime ministers, Mykhailo Fedorov, reportedly appealed to Musk to reinstate Starlink communications. However, Musk declined, asserting that Ukraine's actions were inviting strategic defeat.It's worth noting that Musk had previously echoed Russian talking points on Twitter, suggesting that certain parts of eastern Ukraine be handed over to Russia to align with "the will of the people." A recent study by the European Commission highlighted that Twitter under Musk's ownership had played a major role in spreading Russian propaganda regarding the Ukraine war.The study indicated that Kremlin-backed accounts had gained increased reach and influence on the platform, particularly due to changes in Twitter's safety standards.

Edited By:
Ankita Chakravarti
Published On:
Sep 8, 2023