Secretary of State Antony Blinken dodged questions Sunday about reports that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk crippled Ukraine’s war efforts by not allowing Starlink internet access for a key drone strike against a Russian fleet.
Blinken was asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” about excerpts from a recent biography about the tech guru that claimed he upset Ukrainian officials by not responding to their request to use Starlink for the attack on the Black Sea.
“I can’t speak to a specific episode,” Blinken responded.
“Starlink has been a vital tool for Ukrainians to communicate with each other and, in particular, for the military to communicate in their efforts to defend the entire territory of Ukraine,” he added.
Previously, Musk had publicly feuded with the U.S. government over what he said was a lack of compensation for giving Ukraine access to Starlink, a satellite constellation that can give Internet capabilities to remote regions.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken dodged questions about whether SpaceX CEO Elon Musk crippled Ukraine’s war efforts. Via REUTERS
the billionaire said last week that officials wanted it to provide internet access as far as Sevastopol, a port city in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Internet access would presumably have been used to help orchestrate a major attack against a Russian naval fleet.
Musk declined to provide access, interested in preventing SpaceX from being “complicit in a major act of war and an escalation of the conflict,” he said.
Musk publicly feuded with the US government over the lack of compensation for providing access to Ukraine and revealed that they wanted him to provide internet access as far as Sevastopol. Getty Images/Chesnot
“Starlink has been a vital tool for Ukrainians to communicate with each other and, in particular, for the military to communicate in their efforts to defend all of Ukraine,” Blinken added. AFP via Getty Images/Yasuyoshi
The author of the book “Elon Musk”, Walter Isaacson, then it became clear that the Ukrainians “thought coverage was enabled all the way to Crimea, but it wasn’t,” which is why some erroneous reports suggested that Musk cut off access.
The episode still illustrates Musk’s immense influence over government policy, particularly given the utmost importance of Starlink to Ukrainian military communications.
“It seems like Starlink is so important that the US government doesn’t want to risk offending a capricious billionaire,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper told Blinken, who declined to consider that comment.
Musk teased that SpaceX is creating a “Starshield” system that will involve similar functionality to Starlink, but will “be owned and controlled by the US government.”
Behind the scenes, the space magnate was concerned that Russia might retaliate against an attack on its naval fleet with nuclear weapons, according to Tapper.
“We ourselves have always had to take into account what Russia can do in response to anything we, others or Ukrainians do,” Blinken said.
Starlink is a constellation of satellites that can provide Internet access to remote regions. AFP via Getty Images/Odd Andersen
Blinken declined to comment on whether any possible Musk correspondence with the Russian government alarmed him.
“I can’t speak to conversations that may or may not have happened, I don’t know,” Blinken responded.
The secretary of state landed in Ukraine last week and announced $1 billion in aid for the war-torn nation.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn