Latest news with #Kherson
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Elon Musk 'sabotaged' Ukraine's Starlink Internet service just as troops mounted attack against Russia
Elon Musk allegedly ordered Ukraine's Internet provider Starlink (a subsidiary of his SpaceX business) to cut services just as its troops mounted a crucial counteroffensive, months after the Russian invasion began. Musk gave an order that led to a communications blackout, causing the attack to fail, as Ukrainian troops attempted to regain the city of Kherson in September 2022, according to Reuters, who spoke to three people familiar with the command. The order severely diminished Kyiv's trust in Starlink, which early in the war provided help to Ukraine's military to maintain connection in the battlefield. Shutdown: It was alleged that the SpaceX billionaire ordered Starlink to cut Internet services in parts of Ukraine months after the Russian invasion began Staff at the U.S. tech firm were said to have deactivated at least 100 Starlink terminals after receiving instructions from the Tesla founder, who told a senior engineer at California's SpaceX offices, which controlled Starlink, to cut coverage. It shocked Starlink employees because it allowed Musk to 'take the outcome of a war into his own hands', one of the sources familiar with the command said. The blackout also affected other areas seized by Russia, including some of Donetsk. Although Ukraine reclaimed Kherson in November 2022, Musk's order directly contributed to its failure when the country launched its earlier mission. Ukrainian troops suddenly faced a communications blackout, and that caused soldiers to panic. Drones surveilling Russian forces went dark, and long-range artillery units, reliant on Starlink to aim their fire, struggled to hit targets, according to a Ukrainian military official, an advisor to the armed forces, and two others who experienced Starlink failure near the front lines. Troops therefore failed to surround a Russian position in the town of Beryslav, east of Kherson. The encirclement stalled entirely, said the military official: 'It failed.' It's the first known instance of the billionaire actively shutting off Starlink coverage over a battlefield during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The decision to cut the network's thought to have come from Musk's fears that advances by Ukraine might have provoked a Russian nuclear retaliation. A spokesman for SpaceX told Reuters the account of the incident was 'inaccurate'. The account contravened Musk's narrative of how he had handled Starlink services during the war. In March, in a post on X, Musk said: 'We would never do such a thing. 'To be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals.' To date, Starlink continued to provide service to Ukraine, and its military relied on it for some connectivity. It also gave customers Internet access in remote and unreliable locations across the world. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy publicly expressed gratitude to Musk for Starlink earlier this year. Zelensky used the network to transmit broadcasts to the nation. Musk previously boasted of Starlink's importance to Kyiv on X in March: 'My Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off.'
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Musk ordered Starlink shutdown during Ukraines 2022 counteroffensive
Elon Musk ordered a shutdown of Starlink satellite coverage during Ukraine's counteroffensive in September 2022, Reuters has reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Starlink, a satellite internet service developed by Musk's company SpaceX, has played a key role in maintaining connectivity for Ukrainian forces since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022. It has enabled the troops to coordinate operations, conduct surveillance, and operate drone systems across the front. According to several anonymous sources, Musk had directed a senior engineer at SpaceX's California headquarters to cut coverage in areas including Kherson Region and parts of the Donetsk People's Republic. The order reportedly deactivated over 100 terminals, causing a communications blackout that disrupted reconnaissance and artillery targeting. Ukrainian officials told the outlet that the outage led to the failure of a planned encirclement of Russian forces. Sources said the command was issued in late September and may have stemmed from Musk's concern that Ukrainian gains could trigger a Russian nuclear response. Neither Musk nor SpaceX have responded to Reuters' requests for comment. A company spokesperson called the reporting 'inaccurate' but did not specify what was disputed. The Pentagon, White House, as well as Ukrainian officials have also declined to comment. The report follows a global Starlink outage on Thursday, which disrupted frontline communications for over two hours. Ukrainian commanders confirmed the disruption but said service has since been restored. Musk has previously admitted to refusing a Ukrainian request to activate Starlink over Crimea, arguing that it would have enabled strikes on Russian ships stationed in Sevastopol and escalated the conflict. In 2023, he said doing so would have made SpaceX 'explicitly complicit in a major act of war.' Earlier this year, the billionaire also stressed that Starlink is 'the backbone of the Ukrainian army,' and stated that if the system were to be turned off, Kiev's 'entire front line would collapse.' Last month, the head of Russia's Lugansk People's Republic banned all SpaceX products, including Starlink, warning that they could be used to coordinate attacks. Officials in Moscow have long voiced concerns about the military use of the technology.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk 'ordered Starlink coverage blackout' during crucial Ukraine counterattack
ELON Musk allegedly ordered a shutdown of Starlink coverage in parts of Ukraine during a crucial counteroffensive at the beginning of the Russian invasion, it has been reported. The billionaire's command allegedly led to a communications blackout while Ukrainian forces attempted to retake the port city of Kherson in the south of the country in September 2022. The communication blackout, where staff at the American tech firm deactivated at least 100 Starlink terminals after being instructed to, reportedly caused the attack to fail, according to Reuters, which spoke with three people who were familiar with the demand. According to reports, the blackout caused Ukrainian soldiers to panic as drones surveilling Russian forces went dark, and long-range artillery units, reliant on Starlink to aim at their targets, struggled to hit them. READ MORE: 'He belongs in The Hague': Keir Starmer fiercely criticised over Gaza speech Although Ukrainian forces were able to reclaim Kherson, the incident was reported to have damaged the country's trust in the technology, along with shocking Starlink employees. One of the three people who were familiar with the instruction claimed it enabled Musk to take 'the outcome of a war into his own hands'. The Tesla-owner reportedly grew concerned that Ukrainian forces' advancements could provoke nuclear retaliation from Vladimir Putin. A spokesperson for SpaceX, the aerospace company that owns Starlink, told Reuters the reporting of the incident is 'inaccurate'. In March, Musk posted on his social media platform, X/Twitter: 'To be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals.' Starlink, which went live in 2019, is a satellite company that beams data across its network and is the world's largest satellite operator. It provides customers with internet access in remote and unreliable locations and has a network of around 8000 satellites in orbit. It has been a key tool in Ukraine's defence, as Musk has provided the country with more than 50,000 Starlink terminals during the war. The network has allowed Ukrainians to speak to relatives across the world, and President Zelensky uses the network to transmit broadcasts to the nation. It is also used by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield to communicate and is used to guide drones and long-range artillery units.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Elon Musk 'ordered his Starlink satellites in Ukraine to be shut down' as defenders launched attack on Putin troops
Elon Musk allegedly ordered Starlink to cut internet services in parts of Ukraine as its troops mounted a crucial counteroffensive just months after the Russian invasion began. Musk gave an order that led to a communications blackout, causing the attack to fail, as Ukrainian troops attempted to regain Kherson in September 2022, according to Reuters, who spoke with three people familiar with the command. The order severely diminished Kyiv 's trust in Starlink, the satellite internet service Musk provided early in the war to help Ukraine's military maintain connection in the battlefield. Staff at the American tech firm are said to have deactivated at least 100 Starlink terminals after receiving instructions from the billionaire, who told a senior engineer at California offices of SpaceX, the Musk venture that controls Starlink, to cut coverage. It shocked Starlink employees because it allowed Musk to 'take the outcome of a war into his own hands', one of the sources familiar with the command said. The blackout also affected other areas seized by Russia, including some of Donetsk. Although Ukraine reclaimed Kherson in November 2022, Musk's order directly contributed to their failure when they launched their earlier mission. Ukrainian troops suddenly faced a communications blackout, causing soldiers to panic. Drones surveilling Russian forces went dark, and long-range artillery units, reliant on Starlink to aim their fire, struggled to hit targets, according to a Ukrainian military official, an advisor to the armed forces, and two others who experienced Starlink failure near the front lines. Troops therefore failed to surround a Russian position in the town of Beryslav, east of Kherson. The encirclement stalled entirely, said the military official in an interview. 'It failed.' It is the first known instance of the billionaire actively shutting off Starlink coverage over a battlefield during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The decision to cut the network is thought to have come from Musk's fears that advances by Ukraine might have provoked a Russian nuclear retaliation. A spokesman for SpaceX, the aerospace company that owns Starlink, told Reuters the account of the incident is 'inaccurate'. The Ukrainian ministry of defence has been approached for comment. The account contravenes Musk's narrative of how he has handled Starlink services during the war. In March, in a post on X, the American wrote: 'We would never do such a thing.' 'To be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals,' he added. Musk did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment. Starlink continues to provide service to Ukraine, and its military relies on it for some connectivity. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy publicly expressed gratitude to Musk for Starlink earlier this year. It also provides customers with internet access in remote and unreliable locations across the world. Zelensky uses the network to transmit broadcasts to the nation and it is also used to allow Ukrainians to speak to relatives. Musk has previously boasted of Starlink's importance to Kyiv. 'My Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army,' he wrote on X in March. 'Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off. It is the world's largest satellite operator with 8,000 in orbit and gives Musk enormous geopolitical power with political leaders, governments and militaries worldwide. Some Western militaries, including Britain's armed forces, are using Starlink. Britain began using it for 'welfare purposes', including for personal communications for troops, in 2022. The Ministry of Defence said it has fewer than 1,000 Starlink terminals and doesn't employ them for sensitive military communications. Spain's navy is also using Starlink, but only for recreation and leisure of troops. Musk was previously accused of switching off the network in Ukraine, in the biography of billionaire author Walter Isaacson. Musk believed a planned Ukrainian attack on Russian vessels in the Crimean port of Sevastopol could prompt nuclear retaliation, Isaacson wrote. The American billionaire denied a shutdown and Isaacson later admitted his account was inaccurate. As of April 2025, Kyiv has more than 50,000 Starlink terminals circling the globe. The accusations also raise questions about the unchecked influence of Musk, an unelected billionaire, on global politics. Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho said Musk's 'current global dominance exemplifies the dangers of concentrated power in unregulated domains', in a debate in the House of Lords earlier this year. Meanwhile, Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, wrote on X that 'if SpaceX proves to be an unreliable provider we will be forced to look for other suppliers'. Poland pays for much of Ukraine's Starlink connectivity alongside the US and Germany. SpaceX is the first company to establish an extensive network of communication satellites in low-Earth orbit, a region of space that is closer to the planet than areas where satellites have historically resided.
Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Times
Elon Musk ‘ordered Starlink shutdown' during Ukraine counterattack
Elon Musk allegedly ordered Starlink to cut internet coverage in parts of Ukraine during a crucial counteroffensive during the early stages of the Russian invasion. The order led to a communications blackout while Ukrainian forces attempted to retake Kherson, a port city in southern Ukraine, in September 2022. The blackout ultimately caused the attack to fail. Staff at the American tech firm deactivated at least 100 Starlink terminals after they received the instructions, according to Reuters, which spoke to three people familiar with the instruction. While Ukraine was eventually able to reclaim Kherson, the decision was reported to have shocked Starlink employees and damaged Ukrainian trust in the technology. It enabled Musk to take 'the outcome of a war into his own hands', one of the three people said.
