Musk says blocked Ukraine attack on Russia's Black Sea fleet

Elon Musk prevented a Ukrainian attack on a Russian Navy base in Crimea last year by declining Kyiv's request to activate Starlink internet access. He feared it would make SpaceX complicit in a major act of war. He also called for a truce in the conflict, urging both sides to agree to a ceasefire.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has said that he prevented a Ukrainian attack on a Russian Navy base last year by declining Kyiv's request to activate Internet access in the Black Sea near Moscow-annexed Crimea.

Satellite internet service Starlink, operated by Musk-owned company SpaceX, has been deployed in Ukraine since shortly after it was invaded by Russia in February 2022.

"There was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol. The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor," Mr. Musk posted Thursday on X, formerly named Twitter.

The city of Sevastopol is the base of Russia's Black Sea Fleet on the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

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"If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation," Mr. Musk said.

Mr. Musk was posting in response to a published excerpt of an upcoming biography of the tech tycoon by Walter Isaacson.