World
Ukraine’s difficulties •
Zelensky tells the Financial Times: “Attacks on refineries have stopped.” Musk attacks him on X: “It’s time for him to go.”
In the British newspaper, the Ukrainian president explains how the air strikes had been suspended to comply with US requests, but that during the same period Moscow continued to attack without warning, whilst Starlink communications slowed down, with serious military consequences. The owner of X, however, emphasises the difference between Starlink and Starshield, suggesting that, if anything, it was the US government that slowed down communications.
15 OCT 26
Last updated: 06:54 AM
Translated by AI
Ukraine will resume attacks on Russian oil refineries. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with the Financial Times, in which he expressed his anger at the “dangerous” suspension of intelligence-sharing by the United States and the simultaneous weakening of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. “The suspension is over. We’re done,” he declared.
Kiev, the Ukrainian leader explained, had suspended air strikes on refineries for three days to comply with Washington’s demands, but Moscow had continued to bomb the country during the same period. The Ukrainian military, he added, received no advance warning of the Russian missile strikes, whilst Starlink communications were slowed down across Ukraine, affecting operations on the front line. Zelenskyy then dismissed the suggestion that the disruptions were due to a technical fault. US President Donald Trump denied that the United States had stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv. Elon Musk also responded on X, directly attacking Zelenskyy: “This massacre will continue. It is time for Zelenskyy to go.”
The owner of SpaceX had already spoken out to defend himself against accusations that he had slowed down Starlink connections in Kyiv, reiterating the difference between Starlink and Starshield. As Il Foglio reported here. “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government,” he wrote, clarifying that any restrictions on speed or usage are decided by the US military and “ultimately by the POTUS”. Starlink, he explained, is instead a commercial service run by SpaceX, the use of which is restricted to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military actions, “as this would be inappropriate for a commercial company”.
In short, whilst attacking Zelensky, Musk reiterates that he was not the one who cut off Starlink to Ukraine: the responsibility for any restrictions on military systems, he claims, lies with Washington.