Ukrainian officials blamed StarLink, Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, 52, for blocking access to his StarLink satellite communication network in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, 2022. Musk said the U.S. government, specifically 80-year-old President Joe Biden, did not formally ask that StarLink be used by the Ukrainian military as its primary means of Internet access in the early days of the war. U.S. officials don’t have the technology or resources to compete with Musk or other Internet entrepreneurs to provide the technology needed to maintain Internet communication access. Musk didn’t automatically turn on StarLink access in Crimea, home of Russian Black Sea Fleet, where Kiev currently focuses its drone and bombing attacks against the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials blame the U.S. and now Musk for their lackluster counteroffensive.
How Ukraine thinks that Musk is responsible for providing Internet access to Ukraine is anyone’s guess. White House officials, Democrats and the U.S. press like to blame Musk, greatest entrepreneurs of the 21st century, largely because with his many innovations came nearly unlimited wealth, now at $269.3 billion and counting. Despised by the White House and press, much like former President Donald Trump, Musk started the zero emissions revolution in today’s electric car industry. Tesla had its first move advantage and still outsells all electric cars in the United States. If it were not for Musk’s SpaceX rocket and space company, the U.S.-manned space program would be grounded since NASA’s Space Shuttle retired the Space Shuttle in 2011. NASA put most its eggs in 2011 in Boeing Space Systems, promised to launch its Starliner spacecraft. Boeing’s Starliner never got off the ground.
So when it comes to the Biden White House, Democrats and press fingering Musk, it seems much like Trump, where all the news “fit to print” slams the 77-year-old former president. Coming with the richest-man-in-the-world is all the envy and jealousy that goes with the territory. If Musk didn’t own a space company, building the world’s most powerful rockets and spaceships, Ukraine wouldn’t be pointing fingers at Musk for not having Internet access in its war with Russia. Musk is anti-war activist, believing there are better ways to settle disputes in 2023. “If I got a request from the president type of thing—from the American president to be clear—then I would have turned it on,” Musk said regarding StarLink over Crimea. “No such request came through,” Musk said, pouring cold water on Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky looking to blame anyone for his inept counteroffensive.
White House officials are too busy begging the Democrat-friendly news media to refute the GOP new impeachment inquiry of Biden’s potential business ties with his son Hunter and brother Jim’s overseas business deals. When Biden decided to recognize GM and Ford’s attempt to transition to electric cars, he mentioned nothing about Musk’s Tesla Motors paving the way for the industry. With omissions like that, there’s obvious White House hostility toward Musk, knowing he holds more libertarian political views. Ukraine jumped on the anti-Musk bandwagon, blaming Musk for costing lives in Ukraine. Imagine that, Ukraine expects free Internet supplied by the U.S. government but the government doesn’t operate Intenet communications satellites .So, when it comes to the White House or Kiev they automatically expect Musk to aid Ukraine’s war against the Kremlin.
Pointing fingers at Musk doesn’t begin to tell the real story of Ukraine ineptness in running its war against the Kremlin, costing thousands of civilian and military lives, wrecking Ukraine’s fragile infrastructure and driving millions of citizens into exile. Zelensky decided to go to war against the Kremlin, rather that negotiate with 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin offered to end the conflict in March 2022, if Zelensky accepted the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk and Russian sovereignty over Crimea. Zelensky said “no,” starting his war against the Kremlin. Biden gave Zelensky a blank check to fight his proxy war with the Kremlin. Zelensky now says Musk is to blame for not turning on StarLink over Crimea in Sept. 2022, so that Ukraine could start bombing Russia’s Black Sea naval base. While Zelensky blames Musk, Biden never asked Musk to turn on StarLink.
Musk said Ukraine actively wanted StarLink to take sides in the war, giving Ukraine a strategic advantage over the Kremlin. Musk was not part of the White House proxy war against the Kremlin, nor should Biden expect a global company like StarLink to take sides in the war. Biden’s acts like it’s Musk’s patriotic duty to help Ukraine defeat the Russian Federation. “Elon rules someone else’s land, freedom, dignity is not worth someone else’s life. Elou rules whose life is worth what. Elon rules it better live on the knees than die standing up,” said Olexander Schrbe, Ukraine’s strategic communication ambassador. Blaming Musk is outrageous. Zelensky decided to go to war against the Kremln, now pays the price. Biden needs to own the war’s failure not scapegoat American entrepreneurs like Musk whose genius makes for a more prosperous and peaceful world.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnsit.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
