Elon Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet, according to an excerpt adapted from Walter Isaacson’s new biography of the eccentric billionaire titled “Elon Musk.”

Elon Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet, according to an excerpt adapted from Walter Isaacson’s new biography of the eccentric billionaire titled “Elon Musk.”

As Ukrainian submarine drones strapped with explosives approached the Russian fleet, they “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly,” Isaacson writes.

So Elon Musk has personally interfered with the Ukrainian war effort. Definitely concerning, especially since the USA mistakenly provided so many Starlink terminals to Ukraine.

Ideally, we get the Ukrainians off of Starlink and onto a platform that is truly trustworthy. But it seems like we have some discussions with regards to the newfound pro-Russian asshole billionaire.

  • vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org
    16·
    10 months ago

    Musk provided. Not “USA provided”. It’s just that his wishes and positions are different from Ukraine’s. As in “invasions are bad, yes, but I don’t want Ukraine to win militarily without negotiations”.

    Well, may seem like a weird opinion with the people who negotiate from the Russian side (those guys who think that just lying and betraying every time is very smart, get owned and dominated by those who are better at lies and betrayal, but don’t learn anything).

    However:

    As far as I can see, those sats have been an enormous net benefit for Ukraine’s war effort, so I don’t understand how ungrateful you have to be to even complain as if he owes you anything.

    • dragontamer@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      6·
      10 months ago

      Though Musk has received widespread acclaim and thanks for responding to requests for Starlink service to Ukraine right as the war was starting, in reality, the vast majority of the 20,000 terminals have received full or partial funding from outside sources, including the US government, the UK and Poland, according to the SpaceX letter to the Pentagon.

      So fuck Musk. Not only about turning off internet, but also about faking the news and lying to the world about the funding source.