Politics

Musk says entire Ukraine frontline 'would collapse' if he turned off Starlink system

U.S. tech billionaire Elon Musk has said that the entire Ukrainian front line would collapse against Russia should he turn off his Starlink system.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion began, Musk's SpaceX has provided Ukraine with tens of thousands of Starlink terminals. These devices allow Ukrainian soldiers to maintain communication channels under difficult frontline conditions.

“I literally challenged Putin to one on one physical combat over Ukraine and my Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off,” Musk wrote.
Musk, who is the head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE], also demanded that sanctions be placed on 10 of the top Ukrainian oligarchs.

If the threat comes true, this will be another blow for the Ukrainian forces which are in an already dire situation on the front lines. Earlier in March, the U.S. halted its military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv as President Donald Trump puts pressure on Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire with Russia.

But Ukraine may be offered an alternative to Starlink, as France's Eutelsat Communications said it was in advanced talks with the European Union about providing additional services to Kyiv. Eutelsat already supports government and institutional communications in Ukraine.
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