Washington (United States) (AFP) – Tech billionaire Elon Musk called on Wednesday for Volodymyr Zelensky to “go” as Ukraine’s leader, after insisting any disruption to the war-torn country’s use of his satellite communications system was the fault of the US government, not his company. The comments came as Kyiv raised doubts over US support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, accusing Washington this week of helping Moscow by failing to warn it of incoming missile strikes and hobbling Kyiv’s military response through changes to the SpaceX-designed system it uses for communications.
“And so the slaughter continues,” Musk wrote on X. “Time for Zelensky to go.” Musk earlier said that “any limits on speed or usage” of his SpaceX company’s Starshield systems were “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” referring to US President Donald Trump. He drew a distinction between Starshield, which Ukraine relies on for battlefield communications, and the parallel Starlink civilian satellite system, which Kyiv also deploys but is not allowed to use for offensive operations. Musk was responding to a post on X by Ukraine’s former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who said that “Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 160 km/h is being restored,” but that “removing Starshield’s speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine’s defense.”
Ukrainian defense officials have suggested Washington is behind slower speeds reported on some internet terminals that help the country’s military hit Russian-occupied territory and operate interceptor drones. Kyiv has also accused the United States of helping Russia by failing to warn it of incoming missile strikes, with the city hit by ballistic missiles for two nights in a row before air raid sirens could sound to warn residents to take cover.
A senior official in Kyiv also said that the United States had in recent days threatened to stop providing intelligence about Russian missile launches that Ukraine uses to thwart attacks — which Trump has denied. Trump, facing key midterm elections next month in which soaring fuel prices are a major issue, has blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries for the squeeze on supplies and increase in prices at the pump.
Opposition Democrats in the US Senate and House denounced Trump’s administration over the reported interrupted connections. “Trump’s making a choice — and it directly aids Putin’s slaughter of Ukrainian civilians,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats said in a post on X, describing restrictions as “unconscionable” while Ukraine faced an onslaught of Russian drones and missiles. In the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, top Democrat Jeanne Shaheen said the “restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starshield must stop immediately,” adding that “lives are at stake.” Shaheen also said that the defense department is required to notify “Congress if it pauses or downgrades intelligence sharing with Ukraine,” and called on Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to immediately provide that notification if there are changes.
© 2024 AFP
