“Ukrainian front line would collapse if I turn off Starlink” (E.Musk)
Elon Musk claims he can single-handedly overturn the war in Ukraine. The tech billionaire claims that Ukraine's entire front line would collapse if he took out his Starlink satellite network. After all, Starlink is essential to the communications of Ukraine's military, hospitals, businesses and aid organizations. Is Musk now using this element to force Ukraine into a deal?
In late February, Reuters reported that the U.S. threatened to deny Ukraine access to Starlink if Kiev did not agree to a mineral deal. However, Starlink's big boss, Elon Musk, denied those reports at the time. But now that negotiations on that mineral deal have faltered, Musk appears to once again be using his satellite network to put pressure on Ukraine. In early March, Washington already shut down military support and intelligence sharing to pressure Kiev for peace negotiations with Moscow. Will Starlink also soon be shut down in Ukraine? Or is its imminent threat enough to blackmail Ukraine?
On his social network X, Elon Musk was already accused of ignoring that Russia is indeed the aggressor. Musk replied as follows:
“I literally challenged Putin to a one-on-one battle over Ukraine, and my Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian military. Their whole front line would collapse if I shut it down.”
He described the war as “years of slaughter without progress” and argued that Ukraine would inevitably lose in the end. “Anyone who really thinks and understands what is happening here wants this meat grinder to stop. Peace now!” he added.
“If Starlink goes away, they will have to send out scouts with binoculars like in World War II to gather the info,” defense expert Roger Housen previously warned in De Morgen.
Ukraine is working on plan B
Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, are working with Europe on an alternative should Musk do deploy his satellite network in Ukraine. French satellite operator Eutelsat Communications is already in talks with the European Union to step into the breach.
(FVDV for Tagtik/Source: Reuters - X - De Morgen/Illustration: Tumisu for Pixabay)
