Elon Musk has told Ukraine it can no longer use his internet satellites to control drones after accusing Ukrainians of leveraging the service “in ways that were unintentional part of any agreement”. The billionaire CEO of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites had been providing Ukraine with internet services since February as Russian troops descended on their neighbouring country in a brutal invasion that has claimed millions of lives.
But SpaceX’s President, Gwynne Shotwell, said at an event on Wednesday that the service which the Ukrainian military has been using to control drones was “never meant to be weaponized”.
Ms Shotwell added: “Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement.”
The Space President later referred to reports that the Ukrainian military had used the Starlink service to control drones, which the firm is now taking steps to prevent from happening again.
She added: “There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that. There are things that we can do, and have done.”
SpaceX linked Ukraine up to its satellite internet network, allowing online access without the need for fiber cables, just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military made its way into Ukrainian territory, marking the beginning of the brutal war.
It came after Russia unleashed a frenzy of cyberattacks against Ukraine’s infrastructure. Mr Musk also said that Russian cyberattacks were aimed at the Starlink Starlink internet systems themselves.
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