A mechanical excavator operates on a building destroyed by a rocket strike in Kramatorsk amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP
Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX has accused the Ukrainian army of “weaponising” the firm’s Starlink satellite internet service in the ongoing war with Russia.
The remarks come amid reports that Ukraine has been using Starlink to control drones in the region.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, which has provided Ukraine’s military with broadband communications in its defence against Russia’s military, was “never never meant to be weaponised,” Reuters quoted Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer as saying.
“However, Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement,” she said.
“There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that. There are things that we can do, and have done,” she said.
However, she did not elaborate on the steps SpaceX has taken.
“We know the military is using them for comms, and that’s ok,” she said. “But our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes,” Shotwell added.
According to Shotwell, the use of Starlink was for humanitarian purposes such as providing broadband internet to hospitals, banks as per the contract between the Ukrainian government and SpaceX.
With inputs from agencies
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