Starlink drama puts spotlight on Musk’s global stature

Elon Musk and his business’s role in a recent dispute over Ukraine’s access to Starlink and its military network is putting a spotlight on the tech mogul’s outsized influence on the international stage. 

Following about 10 days of confusion and finger-pointing over what caused the slowdown of Starlink and its military-grade version — Starshield — in Ukraine, Musk acknowledged his company, SpaceX, was behind the restrictions on Starlink’s commercial services.  

While the exact decision behind the specific Starshield slowdown is still contested, the debacle is underscoring the vast reach the world’s richest man has on global and military affairs.  

“A lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea that an individual like a corporate leader, [is] essentially making foreign policy decisions about access, though it’s not clear what the alternative is in this case,” Michael Horowitz, director of the Defense and National Security program at the Council on Foreign Relations, told The Hill. 

“This incident is a really good illustration of the absolutely vital role that Starlink and Starshield play in providing pretty unique capabilities that no other company or country can replicate,” he added. 

Ukraine has used Starlink’s commercial services since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war and later added Starshield through SpaceX’s contract with the Pentagon.   

The company provides internet service using its constellation of thousands of satellites. The distributed nature of Starlink’s architecture makes it more resilient than traditional military communications systems, noted Andrew Grotto, director of Stanford University’s program on geopolitics, technology and governance. 

But Musk argued Saturday that using the commercial service “for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be.” 

“Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week,” Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns.  

Ukrainian officials disputed claims its military violated Starlink’s terms of service, arguing long-standing restrictions on the civilian system........

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