Secretary of State Antony Blinken sidestepped questions on Sunday about reports that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk crippled Ukraine’s war effort by disabling Starlink internet access for a major drone attack on the Russian fleet.
Blinken was asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” about excerpts from a recent biography of the tech guru claiming that he discredited Ukrainian officials by not responding to their request to use Starlink for strikes in the Black Sea.
“I can’t speak to a specific episode,” Blinken replied.
“Starlink has become an important tool for the people of Ukraine to be able to communicate with each other and especially for the military to communicate in their efforts to defend all Ukrainian territories,” he added.
Musk has previously publicly clashed with the US government over what he says is a lack of compensation for giving Ukraine access to Starlink, a satellite constellation that can provide internet capabilities to remote areas.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken sidestepped questions about whether SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was obstructing Ukraine’s war effort. via REUTERS
The millionaire said last week that officials want him to provide internet access as far as Sevastopol, a port city in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Internet access may have been used to help organize a major raid on the Russian naval fleet.
Musk refused to grant that access, keen to avoid SpaceX “complicit in large-scale acts of war and escalation of conflict,” he said.
Musk has publicly clashed with the US government over a lack of compensation for providing access to Ukraine and revealed they want him to provide internet access as far as Sevastopol.Getty Images/ Chesnot
“Starlink has become an important tool for the people of Ukraine to be able to communicate with each other and especially for the military to communicate in their efforts to defend all Ukrainian territories,” added Blinken. AFP via Getty Images/ Yasuyoshi
The author of the book “Elon Musk”, Walter Isaacson, then explained that Ukrainians “thought coverage was enabled all the way to Crimea, but it wasn’t,” which is why some erroneous reports suggested Musk cut off access.
The episode still illustrates Musk’s enormous influence over government policy, especially given Starlink’s paramount importance to Ukraine’s military communications.
“Apparently Starlink is so important that the US government doesn’t want to risk offending fickle billionaires,” CNN host Jake Tapper skewered Blinken, who refused to entertain the jab.
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, space tycoons worry that Russia could retaliate against an attack on its naval fleet with nuclear weapons, according to Tapper.
“We ourselves always have to take into account what Russia might do in response to anything that we or anyone else does or the Ukrainians do,” Blinken said.
Starlink is a satellite constellation that can provide internet access to remote areas. AFP via Getty Images/Odd Andersen
Blinken declined to comment on whether any of Musk’s potential correspondence with the Russian government concerned him
“I can’t speak to a conversation that may or may not happen, I don’t know,” Blinken replied.
The secretary of state landed in Ukraine last week and announced $1 billion in aid to the war-torn country.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
