Elon Musk Denies Reports of Ukraine Threatening to Cut Starlink Internet

Reuters reported that an American delegation negotiating with Ukraine over the country's minerals threatened that if an agreement was not reached, Ukraine's access to Starlink satellite internet might be cut off. However, hours after the report was published, Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX which provides Starlink services, denied it. On Saturday, March 4, Reuters cited three informed sources stating that the issue of Ukraine's access to Starlink arose during negotiations between American and Ukrainian officials after Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, rejected the initial proposal from the U.S. Treasury Secretary. One informed source, who was unnamed by Reuters and was involved in the negotiations, said that although Zelensky rejected the initial proposal regarding access to minerals presented by Scott Busent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, the matter was raised again on Thursday during meetings between Zelensky and Keith Klag, Donald Trump's special representative for Ukraine and Russia. According to this source, Ukraine was told that if an agreement regarding Ukraine's important minerals was not reached, the Starlink satellite internet service would be cut off immediately. This source also pointed to the key role of Starlink for Ukraine, stating that Starlink is like a "compass" for Ukraine, and losing it would deal a heavy blow to the country. The White House National Security Advisor stated that Trump is "very disappointed" with Zelensky. Starlink is a satellite constellation created by SpaceX to provide satellite internet and plays a vital role in Ukraine's internet communications and its military. Elon Musk sent thousands of Starlink devices to Ukraine since the Russian invasion to replace communication services that were lost during the war, but after a few months, he criticized Ukraine's management of the war and reduced the country's access to Starlink. Nevertheless, Musk labeled Reuters' report as "false" and accused them of "lying". Meanwhile, Mike Waltz, a national security advisor to Donald Trump, stated that Kyiv would soon sign an agreement for U.S. access to Ukraine's mineral resources. This comes as Zelensky previously called the agreement unfair and did not agree to it due to the lack of security guarantees. Donald Trump stated on Friday night that he believes Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and Volodymyr Zelensky should talk to each other, adding, "because we want to stop the slaughter of millions of people." Trump also mentioned that he thinks they are very close to an agreement regarding U.S. participation in the extraction of Ukrainian minerals, and that they want this agreement as well.