Elon Musk says he refused to give Kyiv access to his Starlink communications network over Crimea to avoid complicity in a “major act of war”.

Kyiv had sent an emergency request to activate Starlink to Sevastopol, home to a major Russian navy port, he said.

His comments came after a book alleged he had switched off Starlink to thwart a drone attack on Russian ships.

A senior Ukrainian official says this enabled Russian attacks and accused him of “committing evil”.

Russian naval vessels had since taken part in deadly attacks on civilians, he said.

“By not allowing Ukrainian drones to destroy part of the Russian military (!) fleet via Starlink interference, Elon Musk allowed this fleet to fire Kalibr missiles at Ukrainian cities,” he said.

“Why do some people so desperately want to defend war criminals and their desire to commit murder? And do they now realize that they are committing evil and encouraging evil?” he added.

The row follows the release of a biography of the billionaire by Walter Isaacson which alleges that Mr Musk switched off Ukraine’s access to Starlink because he feared that an ambush of Russia’s naval fleet in Crimea could provoke a nuclear response from the Kremlin.

Ukraine targeted Russian ships in Sevastopol with submarine drones carrying explosives but they lost connection to Starlink and “washed ashore harmlessly”, Mr Isaacson wrote.

Starlink terminals connect to SpaceX satellites in orbit and have been crucial for maintaining internet connectivity and communication in Ukraine as the conflict has disrupted the country infrastructure.

  • GunnarRunnar
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    561 year ago

    Yeah what kind of linguistics dweeb doesn’t understand that language is fluid and shapes with time and location.

    • @[email protected]
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      211 year ago

      I’d love to see this tool be held to the spelling standards of old English. You know… to preserve the English language.

    • @[email protected]
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      41 year ago

      Literally the first thing you learn in linguistics is that the malleability in language is why linguistics exists.

      • JackFrostNCola
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        1 year ago

        Which is literally why “literally” and “figuratively” as practically interchangable due to misuse of ‘literally’ as hyperbole. Its figuratively killing me.

      • GunnarRunnar
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        241 year ago

        How is dismissing a correction with a blunt “nope” nice and tacking on etymology when we’re talking about modern use of the word?

      • @[email protected]
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        151 year ago

        Ah, the cruel barbs of irony. Your English is actually quite atrocious.

        There wasn’t a proper sentence in that reply. There was hardly a coherent thought. Perhaps it is time to put your phone down, finish your drink, and go watch a sport.

      • @[email protected]
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        1 year ago

        Oh, get bent, you bell-end! There is no point in trying to be nice and discuss things on here any more; let’s be honest. You lot just love to circle-jerk how much you hate Musk to the detriment of everything else. God buoye ond god spede.

        FTFY.

      • Bipta
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        51 year ago

        Everyone should just report this idiot and move on. You can’t fix stupid.

      • Hyperreality
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        1 year ago

        https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nationalize

        You thought you were smart to correct what you thought was a mistake. You were mistaken, because you’re less smart than you think you are, and not smart enough to know that you don’t know that much.

        Rather than admit that you’re less smart than you think you are, you’ve doubled down and become rude about it.

        Vanity, it’s the devil’s favourite sin.

        Obviously, it’s pathetic. We’ve all been there, but you really should learn when to walk away rather than doubling down.