Kathmandu. American technology entrepreneur Elon Musk has accused Ukraine of carrying out a deadly drone attack using the Starlink satellite communication system. Musk’s statement came at a time when tensions are rising between Washington and Kiev over the interruption of the service of the network, which is considered important for the Ukrainian army.
Writing on social media X on Saturday, Musk accused the Ukrainian military of violating Starlink’s terms of service and using the system to carry out drone attacks aimed at killing people. He also claimed that the flaw was removed last week.
“Starlink’s terms have always been based on the intent of using it as a civilian communication system, not as a means of killing. Violation of the terms will result in service termination,” Musk wrote in another post.
However, Musk said that Starlink is still very important to the defense of Ukraine. According to him, this system is crucial for the Ukrainian army because it is difficult to immediately disrupt or destroy it. “If Starlink is closed, Ukraine’s front line will collapse immediately,” he said.
Since Russia launched an attack on Ukraine in 2022, Musk has repeatedly changed his views on Ukraine. He has also been claiming that the US government is more responsible than SpaceX for disruptions to Starlink services.
Faced with Russian missile and drone attacks, Ukraine has been relying on civilian Starlink and military-developed Starshield systems for military communications, surveillance and other operations.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevgeny Khamara said on Saturday that surveillance systems showed improvements in the speed of Starlink and Starshield. According to him, the speed of the system has reached more than 400 kilometers per hour and the communication link is stable.
“This achievement is very important for our frontline, military, drone operations, logistics management and communications,” Khamara said.
He also said that the necessary speed has been regained and the work of restoring the service has been started since night. He said that this reform is important for the Ukrainian army to manage logistics on the front line and to protect the country from attacks including the threat of rocket-propelled drones.
The Starlink network has recently become a major topic of dispute between Ukraine and the United States. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Washington of working to benefit Russia. According to him, Ukraine’s military response was weakened because the US did not give timely warning about the missile attack aimed at Ukraine and limited the speed of Starlink.
Defense Minister Khamara praised Zelensky’s “firm stand” on this issue and said that it is yielding positive results.