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Topics: Elon Musk, Russia, Ukraine, World News
Cameron Frew
Elon Musk claims he's been threatened by the head of Russia's space agency amid the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian president Vladimir Putin's 'special military' operation has stretched into its 75th day. The death toll is still on the rise; just this past weekend, 60 people sheltering in a school were killed in a bombing by Russian forces.
In the early days of the war, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov appealed to the Tesla and SpaceX chief for help. He responded with substantial support - but he thinks it's got him on the wrong side of the Russians.
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Fedorov tweeted: "@elonmusk, while you try to colonise Mars - Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space - Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people!
"We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand."
Starlink is Musk’s concept for ‘high speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable’, transmitted back down to Earth via thousands of low-orbit signals from above.
A few hours later, Musk replied: "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route."
In April, Musk said the satellites had 'resisted hacking and jamming attempts' from Russian forces. Now, Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has released a statement referencing Musk's assistance to 'Nazis'.
Rogozin, who recently claimed Russia could destroy all NATO countries in 'half an hour', wrote: "From the testimony of the captured chief of staff of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Dmitry Kormyankov, it follows that the ground-based subscriber equipment of the Starlink satellite company Elon Musk was delivered to the militants of the Nazi Azov Battalion and the Marines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to Mariupol by military helicopters.
"According to our information, the delivery of Starlink equipment was carried out by the Pentagon.
"Elon Musk is thus involved with supplying the fascist forces in Ukraine with military communications. And for this you will have to answer in an adult way, Elon, no matter how much you'll play the fool."
Musk shared this statement to Twitter, writing: "The word 'Nazi' doesn’t mean what he seems to think it does."
He also wrote: "If I die under mysterious circumstances, it’s been nice knowin ya."
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information