Musk, Concerned About Nuclear War, Blocks Ukraine Satellite Communication Network

Foreign Media Excerpts from Musk Biography
"Concerns Over Russia Responding to Ukraine Attack with Nuclear Weapons"
Refusal Despite Ukraine's Pleas... Also Considering Conduct Regarding the War

Elon Musk, CEO of the space company SpaceX, revealed that he temporarily cut off the Starlink satellite internet used by Ukraine last year due to concerns that the war between Ukraine and Russia could escalate into a nuclear conflict.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 7th (local time), the US CNN broadcast reported this by excerpting parts of the upcoming biography of Musk by author Walter Isaacson.

According to the report, Musk secretly instructed engineers to shut down the Starlink satellite communication network near the coast of the Crimean Peninsula to disrupt Ukraine's surprise attack on the Russian naval fleet last year.

Isaacson wrote that when a Ukrainian submarine drone equipped with explosives approached the Russian fleet, "(the communication) was cut off, and the (submarine drone) drifted to the shore without causing any damage."

At that time, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation, sent Musk a text message discussing the submarine drone's functionality and pleaded to restore internet communication, but Musk did not turn the satellites back on, saying, "Ukraine is going too far and causing a strategic defeat," Isaacson reported.

Isaacson explained that Musk's decision was driven by extreme fear that Russia would respond to Ukraine's attack on the Crimean Peninsula with nuclear weapons, a concern triggered through conversations with senior Russian officials.

In February last year, just before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Musk supported Ukraine by providing SpaceX's Starlink satellite terminals after Russia damaged Ukraine's communication systems.

Thanks to Starlink, Ukraine was able to continue fighting even when mobile phone networks and internet infrastructure were destroyed.

However, when Ukraine began using Starlink to attack Russia, Musk reportedly reconsidered his decision.

According to his biography, Musk asked himself, "How should I be in this war?" and said, "Starlink was not created for war or drone attacks but for peaceful purposes like people watching Netflix and attending online classes."

CNN explained, "This shows the unique position Musk found himself in as the Ukraine war unfolded," adding, "Whether intentionally or not, he has become a power broker that US officials cannot ignore."

Meanwhile, Musk and SpaceX reportedly did not respond to CNN's request for comment on this matter.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.