Elon Musk issues 'WW3' warning after dealing Ukraine blow with Starlink weapons ban

Last week, SpaceX officials said that the Starlink satellites provided to Ukraine were never meant to be weaponised.

By ANTONY ASHKENAZ 16:26, Tue, Feb 14, 2023

Elon Musk has defended his decision to ban the use of Starlink satellites to operate weapons, warning that such escalation of conflict could lead to World War III.

Last week the SpaceX CEO told Ukraine that 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”.

Since February 2022, the billionaire had been providing Ukraine with critical internet services through the Starlink satellites as Russian troops descended on their neighbouring country in a brutal invasion that has claimed thousands of lives

SpaceX's President, Gwynne Shotwell, said just days ago at an event that the service which the Ukrainian military has been using to control drones was “never meant to be weaponised

Ms Shotwell referred to reports that the Ukrainian military has been using the Starlink internet service to control drones used to combat Russian forces.

She added: “Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement. There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that. There are things that we can do, and have done.”

According to Starlink's terms of service, the satellite constellation “is not designed or intended for use with or in offensive or defensive weaponry or other comparable end-uses.”

Starlink is SpaceX's satellite internet constellation, which is currently active in over 47 countries but aims to provide internet coverage globally through a massive constellation of more than 12,000 satellites in low Earth orbit.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the entrepreneur has provided over 22,000 Starlink dish antennas to Kyiv, which have been deployed in settings from governmental buildings, hospitals, and schools to provide essential internet access after communications were disrupted due to the war.

Elon Musk's decision to limit Starlink's usage to communications only prompted criticism online, with former astronaut Scott Kelly urging the billionaire to restore full capabilities.

Mr Kelly tweeted: “@elonmusk Ukraine desperately needs your continued support. Please restore the full functionality of your Starlink satellites. Defence from a genocidal invasion is not an offensive capability. It's survival. Innocent lives will be lost. You can help. Thank you