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Elon Musk turned off Starlink Access in Crimea to disrupt a Ukrainian attack on Russia.

+2 votes
in General Factchecking by Genius (41.0k points)

Elon Musk shut off the Starlink satellite communications network over Ukraine to thwart a Ukrainian attack planned against Russia.

https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-musk-defends-starlink-decision-on-crimea-strike/a-66764304

1 Answer

+3 votes
by Journeyman (2.7k points)
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Best answer

According to Musk's new biography, as reported by the AP, "Ukrainians in September 2022 had asked for the Starlink support to attack Russian naval vessels based at the Crimean port of Sevastopol"

https://apnews.com/article/spacex-ukraine-starlink-russia-air-force-fde93d9a69d7dbd1326022ecfdbc53c2

The support was not given. According to the same book, as reported by CNBC, Musk later said that "Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes” 

He also said that “The Starlink regions in question were not activated. SpaceX did not deactivate anything"

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/07/ukraine-rips-musk-disrupting-sneak-attack-russian-navy.html

Recently, according to CNBC, members of the Senate Committee on Armed Services have asked the Pentagon for information of if Musk had "directed the unilateral disabling or impediment of function of Starlink satellite communications terminals used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in southern Ukraine in 2022"

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/15/spacex-starlink-service-in-ukraine-subject-of-senate-letter.html

It seems that, until the Senate Committee's request is fulfilled (if it ever is), then it remains a question of whether Musk deactivated this part Starlink, or if was never active in the first place

No available information
by Journeyman (2.2k points)
I appreciate your usage of three credible sources; not only did you paraphrase them, but you were also able to directly quote some things from them as well. I think if you summed up everything at the end and explained whether this statement was true or false, it would make your answer stronger.
by Master (4.2k points)
You have a really good fact check, and a lot of this is due to your various credible sources. Using multiple sources would help solidify your argument, but I making a claim of whether the original claim is true or false would help a reader get a better understanding of why the sources prove your claim.
by Apprentice (1.0k points)
You did a great job paraphrasing the articles and providing different sources and quotes.

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