PLAYING GOD

Musk Fumbled Russia Counteroffensive by Slashing Starlink in Ukraine

The billionaire’s decision to cut off key service led to a failed military operation.

Elon Musk ordered a Starlink communications blackout over parts of Ukraine during a critical 2022 counteroffensive against Russia, leading to a military disaster and preventing soldiers from retaking territory held by Russia. In September 2022, the former special government employee and “first buddy” directed a senior SpaceX engineer to trigger the mass shutdown, cutting service across large swaths of the territory. “We have to do this,” Michael Nicolls, the Starlink engineer, told colleagues upon receiving the order. As Ukrainian forces rushed toward the region of Kherson, they were suddenly cut off from key communications. At least 100 terminals went dark, halting drone surveillance, battlefield communication, and key artillery strikes. Ukrainian troops, who had planned to surround Russian forces in Beryslav, began to panic as their strategic operations were thrown into chaos. “The encirclement stalled entirely,” a military official told Reuters. “It failed.” Ukrainian troops, however, ultimately succeeded in reclaiming Beryslav, Kherson, and additional Russian-held territory. Although his motivation remains unclear, three people told Reuters that the decision may have been driven by Musk’s fear of nuclear retaliation from Russia. Starlink employees were shocked by Musk, who seemed primed to take “the outcome of the war into his own hands.” In a March post on X, Musk said Starlink has not been used to influence the war: “We would never do such a thing.”