Elon Musk Foments More Geopolitical Controversy With Ukraine Internet Dispute - The New York Times

Shortly aft Russia invaded Ukraine, Elon Musk gave the Ukrainians a integer lifeline by providing them with the Starlink net work operated by his rocket company, SpaceX.

But those actions landed the world’s richest antheral successful an planetary contention connected Friday erstwhile Mr. Musk said his institution could not “indefinitely” money Ukraine’s usage of Starlink, which has go crucial for the Ukrainian Army’s connection arsenic it advances into territory occupied by Russia and defends against continued Russian attacks.

Mr. Musk made his comments connected Twitter aft CNN reported that SpaceX sent a missive to the Pentagon past period asking it to instrumentality implicit the backing of Ukraine’s usage of Starlink. About 20,000 Starlink terminals, which were designed to enactment with satellites orbiting successful abstraction to supply online access, person been delivered to Ukraine since Russia’s penetration successful February. Mr. Musk, who did not notation the Pentagon, talked astir the difficulties of backing the service.

The situation, which spurred an outcry for however it mightiness hobble Ukrainian forces, was yet different contention fomented by Mr. Musk, 51, who has go an improbable provocateur successful planetary geopolitics. The billionaire, who oversees the electrical carmaker Tesla and different companies, is already embroiled successful nationalist brouhahas connected galore different fronts, including a will-he-won’t-he $44 cardinal deal to bargain the societal media work Twitter.

Last week, Mr. Musk drew a fierce rebuke from Ukrainian officials for proposing a bid plan — which included ceding territory to Russia — to extremity the war. He besides suggested successful an interrogation with The Financial Times that tensions betwixt China and Taiwan could beryllium resolved by handing implicit immoderate power of Taiwan to Beijing.

“Elon Musk is ever a hazard factor,” said Xiaomeng Lu, a manager with Eurasia Group, a governmental consultancy and probe radical successful Washington. “Ukraine is playing with fire.”

SpaceX and Mr. Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

In a tweet connected Friday, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, struck a conciliatory code with Mr. Musk, saying helium helped the state “survive the astir captious moments of war.”

Mr. Musk revealed that SpaceX was processing the Starlink work successful 2015 to supply net entree to individuals and businesses. The institution present offers Starlink services successful 40 countries. In the United States, fees for the work are $100 to $500 a period per terminal; the terminals themselves outgo an further $600. Because the work is provided by thousands of satellites that cannot beryllium easy destroyed successful space, it is harder to disrupt than accepted net services, making it ideally suited for usage during war.

Mr. Musk’s engagement successful Russia’s penetration of Ukraine dates to erstwhile Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s lawman premier minister, tweeted a connection to him successful February. Mr. Fedorov asked for assistance obtaining Starlink terminals truthful Ukrainians could enactment online adjacent if Russia damaged the country’s main telecommunications infrastructure.

Mr. Musk responded swiftly, with a shipment of Starlink instrumentality arriving successful Ukraine 2 days later. Mr. Zelensky thanked the billionaire and said the work would assistance support communications successful cities nether onslaught from the Russians.

The astir 20,000 terminals present being utilized successful Ukraine are paid for by SpaceX, astatine slightest 3 Western governments and different allies, according to a SpaceX papers shared with The New York Times. About 4,000 of the terminals are utilized by the Ukrainian Army, according to a missive that the service sent to SpaceX and shared with The Times. Mr. Musk has said SpaceX has waived the service’s monthly fees.

But by April, Mr. Musk made it wide that his assistance would spell lone truthful far. On Twitter, helium said that arsenic a “free code absolutist,” helium would not usage Starlink to artifact Russian authorities media outlets that dispersed propaganda and misinformation connected the warfare successful Ukraine.

Last week, Mr. Musk said the cognition successful Ukraine had outgo SpaceX $80 cardinal to date. On Friday, helium added that “burn” for the project, which refers to the wealth repeatedly spent by SpaceX, was astir $20 cardinal a month.

“In summation to terminals, we person to create, launch, support & replenish satellites & crushed stations,” helium tweeted. “We’ve besides had to support against cyberattacks & jamming, which are getting harder.”

Any Starlink pullback would beryllium a stroke to the Ukrainian Army, which has depended connected the instrumentality for net connectivity, particularly fixed the Russian military’s quality to jam communications and permission swaths of Ukrainian territory without power. Ukraine’s service has utilized Starlink, which troops accidental Russians person been incapable to hack, for everything from calling successful artillery enactment to messaging loved ones astatine home.

The Starlink terminals person a tiny rectangular antenna that tin beryllium powered from car batteries. Ukrainian soldiers connected the beforehand person figured retired however to camouflage the instrumentality by digging it into the crushed truthful the terminals are protected from shelling but inactive capable to person and transmit data.

In July, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, a Ukrainian general, sent a missive to SpaceX and Mr. Musk, asking for an further 6,700 Starlink terminals.

“Starlink terminals person the imaginable to comprise the superior infrastructure furniture underlying the bulk of connection on the concatenation of command,” the letter, which was shared with The Times, read. The service has not received the units.

In mid-September, Ukraine launched a counteroffensive and precocious into territory successful the southbound that was antecedently occupied by Russia. Ukraine’s service mislaid entree to the Starlink work successful immoderate areas adjacent the beforehand lines, 3 radical with cognition of the substance said. The work has been restored successful cardinal places, 1 of them said.

Days aft the Ukrainian counteroffensive began, a Russian delegation to the United Nations suggested that Starlink satellites could become a subject target. On Twitter, Mr. Musk insisted that Starlink was for peaceful usage only.

Mr. Musk past began promoting his projected bid program betwixt Russia and Ukraine. He called connected Ukraine to judge Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and hold to caller referendums successful Russian-occupied Ukraine that would fto residents take who should power those territories. He created a Twitter canvass asking if “the volition of the people” successful occupied areas should determine if they were portion of Ukraine oregon Russia.

Mr. Zelensky posted a Twitter canvass of his own, asking, “Which Elon Musk bash you similar more: 1 who supports Ukraine, oregon 1 who supports Russia?”

Mr. Musk countered by tweeting, “I inactive precise overmuch enactment Ukraine, but americium convinced that monolithic escalation of the warfare volition origin large harm to Ukraine and perchance the world.”

The Kremlin praised Mr. Musk’s proposal.

“It’s precise affirmative that specified a idiosyncratic arsenic Elon Musk is trying to look for a peaceful settlement,” Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said. “As for the referendums, radical person voiced their opinion, and determination could beryllium thing else.”

On Friday, Pentagon officials said determination had been discussions astir however to assistance the Ukrainian subject enactment online during the war. One official, speaking connected the information of anonymity, said Defense Department officials hoped that Mr. Musk and Ukrainian officials could enactment retired a way forward, but added that the anticipation of the Pentagon’s footing the measure for the Starlink work successful Ukraine was not retired of the question.

“The section continues to enactment with manufacture to research solutions for Ukraine’s equipped forces arsenic they repel Russia’s brutal and unprovoked aggression,” the Pentagon property secretary, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, said successful an email. “We bash not person thing other to adhd astatine this time.”

Ms. Lu of the Eurasia Group said Ukraine astir apt had fewer options different than to support a affable narration with Mr. Musk due to the fact that of his power of Starlink. Mr. Musk owns 44 percent of SpaceX, which is simply a backstage company.

“Even if they are not blessed with the situation, they person to woody with it, due to the fact that they are truthful babelike connected the technology,” Ms. Lu said.

Reporting was contributed by Adam Satariano, Julian Barnes, Michael Schwirtz and Thomas Gibbons-Neff.