Elon Musk: We’re Curbing Starlink’s Use in Ukraine to Prevent WWIII

Elon Musk this weekend defended SpaceX’s decision to curtail Ukraine’s use of the Starlink satellite internet system to launch drone strikes against Russia, citing the threat of “escalation.”

“Starlink is the communication backbone of Ukraine, especially at the front lines, where almost all other Internet connectivity has been destroyed,” Musk wrote(Opens in a new window). “But we will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3.”

Days earlier, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell confirmed the company had taken steps to limit the Ukrainian military’s ability to use Starlink to pilot unmanned drones on the frontlines of the war. “It was never intended to be weaponized,” Shotwell said of Starlink’s battlefield uses. “On the other hand, they are trying to fight for their country.”

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Still, the decision isn’t sitting well with everyone. On Twitter, former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly called on Musk to lift the restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starlink. “Please restore the full functionality of your Starlink satellites. Defense from a genocidal invasion is not an offensive capability. It’s survival. Innocent lives will be lost,” Kelly tweeted(Opens in a new window) on Friday. 

Musk responded: “You’re smart enough not to swallow media and other propaganda bs.” 

In a separate tweet(Opens in a new window), Musk added: “SpaceX commercial terminals, like other commercial products, are meant for private use, not military, but we have not exercised our right to turn them off. We’re trying hard to do the right thing, where the ‘right thing’ is an extremely difficult moral question.”

The ethics over weaponizing Starlink occurs when both the US and European allies have spent millions to bring the satellite internet system to Ukraine. At least one government official in Ukraine has also publicly urged(Opens in a new window) SpaceX to lift the restrictions. 

Russia, on the other hand, has made veiled threats to attack Starlink, citing its use in Ukraine. One Russian company even claims to have made technology capable of detecting and hunting down Starlink dishes on the battlefield.