Ukraine requires SpaceX to choose either Russian or Ukrainian side
2023.02.09 12:22
Ukraine requires SpaceX to choose either Russian or Ukrainian side
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – A senior Ukrainian official said on Thursday that Elon Musk’s SpaceX should choose between Russia and Ukraine after the company said it would stop Kyiv using Starlink internet devices to control drones.
SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell, stated on Wednesday that the Starlink service, which has enabled Ukraine to defend itself against Russian forces with broadband communications, was “never meant to be weaponized.”
A political advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Mykhailo Podolyak, criticized the decision on Twitter, another company owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
“A year of Ukrainian resistance, and businesses must choose: Either they support Ukraine and the right to freedom and do not seek harm, or they do. Or, as Podolyak wrote, “they are on Russia’s side and its ‘right’ to kill and seize territories.”
He stated, “SpaceX (Starlink) and Mrs. Shotwell should select a specific option.”
In the field, the Ukrainian military communicates with thousands of Starlink devices. The business gave away some of the gadgets for free.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Podolyak has repeatedly criticized Musk, despite the significance of Starlink to Kiev.
He has criticized Musk’s suggestions for “exchang(ing) foreign territories for an illusory peace)” and cautioned him against “pessimizing” official Ukrainian accounts of the conflict.
