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Elon Musk Calls on Ukraine to “Hold Strong”

Elon Musk
Elon Musk discussing a Neuralink device during a live demonstration in 2020. Credit: Steve Jurvetson/Wikipedia CC BY 2.0

Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has landed firmly on Ukraine’s side after Russia invaded its neighbor, an attack condemned around the world.

Musk told Ukraine to “Hold Strong,” in a tweet on Friday, with the message surrounded by three Ukrainian flags on the left and three others on the right.

At the same time, the brilliant CEO and entrepreneur sent his sympathies to the “the great people of Russia, who do not want this.”

However, while several nations have blocked Russian news outlets and requested that Spacex’s Starlink do the same, Musk refuses to block them from the satellite broadband service.

“Unless at gunpoint”, he tweeted on Saturday, as a free speech advocate, he will not disallow the Russian outlets from his service. Currently Russian media have full access to Starlink.

Starlink satellite internet access to Ukraine

Since the Russian invasion, Ukraine has been regularly targeted by cyberattacks carried out by Russian operators, according to the country’s IT security agency.

It was necessary then to have internet access via satellite. Musk sent Starlink satellite internet access terminals to Ukraine about a week ago.

This was after Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister challenged the billionaire on Twitter to send the terminals to Ukraine.

Musk took the challenge and sent them, but warned that these Starlink terminals will likely be attacked by Russian hackers.

Now Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, but is prone to cyber attacks.

“Turn on Starlink only when needed and place antenna as far away from people as possible. Place light camouflage over antenna to avoid visual detection,” Musk advised.

What is Starlink

Starlink is the first consumer product from SpaceX. It is a high-speed internet powered by a network of thousands of small low-orbit satellites.

Starlink enables users in areas that have low signal by the fixed and mobile networks of telecom operators to access the Internet.

The thousands of small satellites circulate in low orbit — mainly 342 miles (550 kilometers) above Earth. The system also needs ground stations all around the globe communicating with the satellites.

Musk’s SpaceX has already launched more than 2,000 Starlink satellites, with an overall goal of increasing the number to 12,000.

Cyber war

Along with the shelling and fighting in city outskirts, the war in Ukraine is also fought in cyber-space.

Cyber-attacks have been raging on both sides, with the situation escalating.

However, as Elon Musk speaks of freedom of speech, the war expands to the digital domain in several different ways.

Should there be online censorship? Should tech companies block news outlets? Are malicious users spreading fake news and disinformation in social platforms? Do government officials propagandize through the same platforms?

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