Already icy, relations between Elon Musk and the Ukrainian government are likely to become a little more strained. His company SpaceX, which is in charge of the Starlink satellite internet access system, confirmed that kyiv would no longer be able to use this network for the control of combat drones.
Starlink was “never intended to be a weapon,” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell explained at an event in Washington on Wednesday, stressing that she was against the deal between the parties.
As the BBC reminds us, kyiv uses drones to track but also to drop bombs on Russian positions. For Gwynne Shotwell, Starlink should only be used for communications. For this reason, the company has decided to “limit” the capabilities of the service, without giving more details about the technical measures adopted.
A “backbone”
Starlink has become an important tool for Ukraine, which uses it as the country’s main Internet network. On January 31, Elon Musk claimed on Twitter that his company “has become the backbone of Ukraine’s connectivity to the front,” but also stressed that he did not authorize “the use of Starlink for long-range drone strikes.” .
Starlink uses thousands of satellites in orbit to provide an Internet connection independent of the main ground infrastructure, partially destroyed by the Russians.
Last October, Elon Musk angered the Ukrainians and the Pentagon by asking the US Department of Defense to fund the use of the constellation over the country. Earlier in the month, the billionaire had embarked on a dangerous draft peace plan between Ukraine and Russia, quite favorable to Moscow. An initiative that had provoked a salvo of criticism from the Ukrainian government.
Source: BFM TV
