This Thursday, Ukrainians reacted with bewilderment to claims by a Starlink manager that Ukraine had “transformed” a satellite internet service that was militarily fundamental to surviving against a Russian invasion.
Gwynne Shotwell, president of Spacex, which runs Starlink, also said in the same place this Wednesday that the Elon Musk-controlled company has taken unspecified measures to prevent Ukrainian forces from using Starling technology against Russian invaders, the Associated Press (AP) reported. ) agency.
The network of low-orbit satellites is critical to Ukraine’s use of drones on the battlefield, a key element of the war as it approaches its anniversary, and the country’s defenders have no viable alternative.
Satellite communications help Ukrainian militants locate the enemy and direct long-range artillery strikes.
At a conference in Washington, Shotwell said: “We were very pleased to be able to connect with Ukraine and help them in their fight for freedom. It was never intended to be a weapon. However, the Ukrainians inadvertently took advantage of this. which are part of any agreement.”
Speaking on the sidelines with reporters from The Wall Street Journal and other news organizations, Shotwell added that SpaceX has been working to limit Ukraine’s use of Starlink for military purposes.
“There are things we can do to limit his options. There are things we can do and we have already done,” he said, according to the media, without adding further details.
The words drew criticism from an important adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, who, via the social network Twitter, emphasized that SpaceX needs to decide whether it is on the side of Ukraine’s right to freedom or Russia’s side of freedom. kill and conquer territories.
It’s unclear if Shotwell’s comments were made at the urging of Musk, the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX, a company that has yet to respond to a request for comment, AP reported.
There were also no signs of a disruption to the Starlink service in Ukraine.
In his statement, the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Mikhail Fedorov, assured that “there were no problems with the operation of Starlink ascending terminals in Ukraine.”
A “constellation” of 2,200 satellites has been the country’s lifeline since the February 24 invasion of Russia, especially as Ukraine struggles to maintain power and telecommunications.
In a statement, Fedorov praised Musk as “one of Ukraine’s biggest private contributors to the future victory”, valuing SpaceX’s contributions at more than $100 million (about 93 million euros).
A Ukrainian military official called Shotwell’s remarks “strange” given the country’s well-known use of Starlink as a weapon, AP reported.
Musk sparked controversy in October, even angering Zelensky by saying that in order to achieve peace, Russia must be allowed to keep the Crimean peninsula it conquered in 2014 and that Ukraine must adopt neutral status by giving up trying to join BORN.
DMS // RBF
Lusa/The End
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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