1y ago

Russian forces now using Musk’s Starlink on Ukraine front line

arstechnica.com

Russian forces in Ukraine are reportedly using Starlink terminals for internet connectivity.
The Ukrainian military claims that the use of Starlink by Russian troops is becoming "systemic".
SpaceX, the owner of Starlink, denies selling equipment to the Russian government or military.

Archive link: https://archive.ph/OjJCO

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Jediwan @lemy.lol

1y ago

Russian forces now using Musk’s Starlink on Ukraine front line

arstechnica.com /tech-policy/2024/02/russian-forces-now-using-musks-starlink-on-ukraine-front-line/

28 comments

Maybe Elon needs to go to prison for eggregiously violating sanctions. Is that a thing? Can someone get prison time for such a crime?
- lol, not the rich. If only there were some legal mechanism to freeze his accounts...
  
  Good thinking. We freeze the accounts of other Russian oligarchs. Why not this one?
Take away his government contracts, claw back the funds and prosecute him.
- Even better, nationalize it. We don’t have to let Musk keep control of it at all.
  
  I don't think y'all want to take over that shit show of a company.
  It's an unsustainable model
Lmao now the US is actually funding a tool Putin is using against the US.
Trump isn't even elected yet either.
Musk is the Henry Ford of our time. Helping his pal, the enemy, as far as possible within the bounds of treason laws.
- "I may have committed some light treason."
But I thought Elon Musk said that starlink wasn't used by Russia "as far as he knows"?
- No, he said that he doesn't sell starlink terminals in Russia. When asked whether Russia uses starlink he declined to answer.
Nothing like war profiteering
But Starlink is not on in the contested areas is it? At least in Crimea.. or did they turn it on now?
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Russian forces are using Starlink terminals on the front line in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian military, which said the adoption of Elon Musk’s satellite internet service by Moscow’s troops was becoming “systemic”.
In a post on X on Sunday Musk, the company’s chief executive, said: “A number of false news reports claim that SpaceX is selling Starlink terminals to Russia.
Musk provided thousands of Starlink terminals to Ukraine to help it fend off Russian troops soon after their full-scale invasion in February 2022, giving Kyiv’s forces a valuable technological advantage in the form of high-speed internet for communications, targeting and battlefield management software.
However, Kyiv’s praise for the businessman turned to fury when Musk started to limit the operation of Starlink in areas of Ukraine that Russian forces have occupied since 2014, including Crimea.
But introducing or reintroducing so-called “geofencing” to stop Starlink use by Russia on the front line could also affect the Ukrainian military’s devices given the proximity of the two sides’ positions.
A biography of Musk by Walter Isaacson published last autumn detailed how the tycoon refused to allow Starlink to be used by Ukrainian forces for a naval drone strike on Russian ships in Sevastopol.
The original article contains 607 words, the summary contains 200 words. Saved 67%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Weren't they also doing this last year? How is this news? Attention everyone, this guy invented a wheel and you can move things easily with it!
Time to privatize!
- De-privatize.. it is currently a privately owned company. It has reached a point where it could be chopped up, some of it goes to MilSatCom the rest to NASA.
  
  Derp, thanks.
  
  Nationalize, maybe

28 comments