Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is angry at Elon Musk after Ukraine's military reported that its access to Starlink satellite internet terminals was suddenly restricted. In an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Zelenskyy warned that "people will die" if the service is not restored.
Zelenskyy's warning to Musk
Asked by Piers Morgan if he was angry with Musk over the restrictions, Zelenskyy responded: "Yes, I think he is not right. It's a big mistake. I don't know him or somebody pushed him to, I don't know really. But our soldiers, when we got this information at night, they tried to make connection with Space X and not only Space X with the American partners, with generals."
He added: "Yes, I said to them, of course, connect and ask what's going on, maybe technical problems and they said, 'No, we don't think that this is a technical problem'."
Musk's response and political context
Musk responded by saying the Ukrainian military was linked to a separate network called Starshield, operated by the US government, and not the normal Starlink. The Tesla boss had earlier backed Trump's comments about Zelenskyy being replaced in a fresh call for elections, which cannot legally happen until the war is over.
Zelenskyy has come under pressure from Trump, with the US President calling for Ukraine to hold elections, which is legally impossible for the country to do while still at war with Russia. Trump made the comments after appealing to blame Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil for the rise in diesel prices, with a warning for strikes to stop.
Zelenskyy's direct message to Musk
In a direct message to Musk, Zelenskyy said: "No it's a big mistake, [with] a lot of losses. This decision will bring a lot of human losses… Of course, people will die."
He continued: "Of course, if attacks will continue and if Starlink will not work, it's not helpful. So my message is absolutely, I hope that it's a mistake, maybe a huge technical problem, I don't know. But we are asking to do it, to switch it on."
The full interview is available on Piers Morgan Uncensored on YouTube.
