Two positive developments concluding Musk's antics: Ukrainian diplomat on Starlink shutdown in Crimea

He shared the information on Espreso TV.

"I must say for the sake of balance that thanks to Starlink, and Musk agreed to it, our Ukrainian Armed Forces did their job as efficiently as possible. And the fact that Elon Musk at some point began to falter, so to speak, is another story. However, there are two positive developments here. The first news is that the US Congress has finally realized that giving such power even to its billionaires is dangerous," the diplomat said.

Volodymyr Ohryzko added that the US Congress will hold relevant hearings, to which Musk will be invited. "They will discuss how to limit the unlimited power that this or that billionaire acquires, especially if he or she is involved in telecommunications. And most likely, there will be good lawmakers who will reformat this into certain paragraphs of the law.”

"And the second development is that the Pentagon has signed contracts with Musk himself on how Musk will perform his functions in the interests of Ukraine. And now we will not depend on whether he wants to turn Starlink on or off - this is now Musk's commitment to the Pentagon. And as you know, in such cases, they don't joke around: if you commit to doing something, you will do it. Thus, the story with Elon Musk's antics will be successfully completed," Ohryzko summarized.

Background 

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

Musk, in turn, said that he did not disconnect Starlink in Crimea, but rejected Ukraine's request to reconnect 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 explained.

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

Later, Musk said that he did not consider himself a traitor for shutting down Starlink satellite internet in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

"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 did not declare war on Russia. If anyone is treasonous, it is those who call me such," the billionaire said.

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

The US Senate demands an investigation into the SpaceX company of American billionaire Elon Musk after he admitted that he blocked Ukraine's Starlink satellite Internet in the temporarily occupied Crimea.