JAKARTA - Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been threatened by the head of the Russian space agency for his efforts to provide internet services for Ukraine. The world's richest conglomerate has used Starlink, which has a constellation of more than 2,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit, to transmit internet connections to dishes around the world.
The service has a large presence in Ukraine, and was introduced with the explicit aim of keeping the country online amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
The billionaire said they had 'deterred hacking and jamming attempts' from Russia in April and focused SpaceX's efforts on countermeasures - at the expense of other projects.
Musk tweeted information provided by Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, to Russian media on Sunday evening. Rogozin posted the statement himself on Telegram.
Rogozin - who yesterday boasted that Russia can destroy all NATO countries 'in half an hour' - accused Musk of providing Starlink equipment to what they call the "Nazi Azov Battalion" as well as branches of the Ukrainian military.
The word “Nazi” doesn't mean what he seems to think it does pic.twitter.com/pk9SQhBOsG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2022
“From the testimony of the captured chief of staff of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Dmitry Kormyankov, it can be concluded that the ground-based customer equipment of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite company was sent to Nazi militants. Azov Battalion and Marines of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to Mariupol by military helicopter," wrote Rogozin.
"Elon Musk is thus involved in supplying fascist forces in Ukraine with military communications," added Rogozin. "And for this you must answer in a mature manner, Elon, no matter how much you pretend to be stupid."
As well as responding to attacks, officials said Starlink gave Ukrainian forces the edge in winning the drone war as the country fought back with technology to track the Russian invasion.
The billionaire responded, as he often does, with his tongue firmly pressed against his cheek.
"The word 'Nazi' doesn't mean as much as he thinks," tweeted Musk, who is in the process of trying to buy Twitter. He then added: "If I die under mysterious circumstances, it's good to know huh."
If I die under mysterious circumstances, it's been nice knowin ya
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2022
Many Musk fans responded to the letter, including his own mother, Maye Musk. "That's not funny," Musk's mother wrote with several angry-faced emojis.
"Sorry! I will do my best to stay alive," Musk replied.
Rogozin has been feuding with the billionaire since the invasion began. He even called him a 'little devil' and criticized the Tesla Cybertruck, according to Business Insider.
He even mocked Musk's attempts to buy Twitter, calling it a "money bag" and mocking the idea that he would bring free speech to the platform.
SpaceX alone has launched more than 2,000 'Starlink' space internet satellites into orbit and hopes to have 12,000 in the sky by 2026.
They form a constellation designed to provide low-cost broadband internet service from low Earth orbit.
While satellite internet has been around for a while, it suffers from high latency and unreliable connections.
Starlinks are different. SpaceX says its goal is to provide high-speed wired internet around the world.
Musk has previously said the venture could give the three billion people who currently don't have access to the internet a cheap way to get online. It could also help fund future cities on Mars.
Drones deployed in the field could use Starlink to stay connected and provide intelligence when the internet and power outages hit Ukraine.
With this technology, drones can be directed to drop anti-tank munitions to help ward off Russian attacks.
The Starlink satellite system gives Ukrainian forces the edge in winning the drone war as the country fights back with technology to track the Russian invasion.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the embattled country's president took to Twitter to thank Tesla's CEO, for his support, and invited the tech mogul to visit Ukraine after the war was over.
Rogozin spoke about Russia's ability to destroy NATO on Saturday, May 7 using a word that Vladimir Putin has banned in relation to Ukraine - 'war' - he said: 'This is a war for truth - and Russia's right to live as a unit and independent. country.'
"The existence of Ukraine apart from Russia will definitely turn it into an anti-Russian and Western springboard for aggression against our people," Rogozin said.
"That's why what we call Special Military Operations goes far beyond its original meaning and geography," said Rogozin
He did not say which other areas Putin was eyeing outside of Ukraine. But he claims NATO is engaged in proxy wars that use Ukrainian soldiers to fight without endangering their own troops.
"Ukraine's armed forces are expendable cannon fodder for NATO," he said. "They are just operators trained by NATO instructors pushing the levers and buttons of NATO weapons."
Reported by the Daily Mail, On Sunday, May 8 G7 leaders including US President Joe Biden held talks with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
According to UN estimates, as the war approaches its tenth week, more than 3,000 Ukrainians are confirmed dead in the conflict.
The organization said the true number was 'likely much higher', and independent sources pointed to more than 10,000 civilian casualties in the war-torn country. NATO estimates that Russia and Ukraine each lost about 15,000 troops.
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