Musk says blocked Ukraine attack on Russian warships

The satellite-based communications system Starlink, operated by Musk-owned company SpaceX, has been deployed in Ukraine since shortly after the country was invaded by Russia in February 2022.

The network, which helps increasingly high-tech soldiers to operate in areas where other means of communication are down, is a key battlefield tool for Kyiv.

But the admission by Musk -- who has previously angered Ukraine with proposals including validating Russia's claim to sovereignty over the occupied Crimea region -- raises questions about whether Starlink can be fully counted on by Kyiv.

The incident in question revolves around a dramatic plan by Ukraine to cripple Russia's Black Sea naval fleet based in Sevastopol, a strategic harbor in Crimea, which Moscow occupied and claimed to annex in 2014.

"There was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol. The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor," Musk posted Thursday on his social media platform X, formerly named Twitter.

"If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation," said Musk, the world's richest person.

The billionaire's post sparked sharp condemnation from Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"By not allowing Ukrainian drones to destroy part of the Russian military (!) fleet via #Starlink interference, @elonmusk allowed this fleet to fire Kalibr missiles at Ukrainian cities. As a result, civilians, children are being killed," Podolyak wrote on X.

"This is the price of a cocktail of ignorance and big ego," he added.

The Pentagon did not directly respond when asked if Musk's actions were acceptable for a US government contractor and what actions it was taking as a result.