SpaceX leaders have conceded that they've been blocking Ukrainian forces from employing Starlink technology for military uses. "It was never intended to be weaponized," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said at a conference Thursday, CNN reports. Frustrated Ukrainian officials answered along the lines of "but that's what we need it for," given Russia's invasion. Shotwell told reporters SpaceX provided the technology for communication uses by Ukrainians, to "keep the banks going, hospitals, keep families connected." She added: "Our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes."
An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, tweeted that SpaceX and other companies have to choose a side: Ukraine and freedom or Russia and the "right to kill and seize territories." Meanwhile, Ukraine's digital minister, who's been working with the company on Starlink, said SpaceX has been one of the biggest private donors to the war effort, totaling more than $100 million, per the New York Times. He seemed to want to keep that door open. "We hope for further stable work of Starlinks in Ukraine," said Mykhailo Fedorov.
The arrangement has paid off for the company and the country, the Times notes. Ukraine has received needed technology, which has allowed troops online access even where the infrastructure has been a casualty, while SpaceX founder Elon Musk has become only more influential in global affairs. There have been points of conflict before this, including when CNN found out Musk was trying to get the Pentagon to pick up some of the cost. "I was the one that asked the Pentagon to fund, this was not an Elon thing," Shotwell said this week. That's been settled, she said: The US isn't paying. (More Starlink stories.)
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