Starlink scandal: Musk says he doesn't consider himself traitor as US isn't at war with Russia

He wrote about this on the X social network, commenting on the scandal that has not subsided.

"I am a citizen of the United States and have only that passport. No matter what happens, I will fight for and die in America. The United States Congress has not declared war on Russia. If anyone is treasonous, it is those who call me such," he wrote. 

Background

Writer Walter Isaacson wrote about the Starlink shutdown in his biography of Elon Musk. According to him, the businessman was afraid that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would use the technology to strike at the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Musk, in turn, said that he did not disconnect Starlink in Crimea - he rejected Ukraine's request to connect it.

"SpaceX did not deactivate anything. There was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol. The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor. If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation," the businessman said. 

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the President's Office, called Musk's actions a mixture of ignorance and a big ego, which resulted in numerous human casualties.

It is worth noting that this is not the first scandal involving Musk. Last year, his company SpaceX informed the Pentagon that it refused to finance Starlink satellite communications services in Ukraine. Eventually, the US took over the costs.