After Musk switched off the internet access, submarine drones loaded with explosives that were headed toward Russian targets paused operations and washed ashore.
That's according to a new book from American author and journalist Walter Isaacson, who published the details in his new biography on the eccentric billionaire, titled "Elon Musk."
The excerpt, reported by CNN ahead of the book's Sept. 12 release, details the tension between Musk and Ukraine during the raid last year.
Ukrainian agents had deployed the drones in Sevastopol, a city on the Crimean Peninsula, and were hoping to take out key targets for a Russian naval fleet.
Then the internet shut off. Ukrainian officials begged Musk to turn it back on, to no avail. According to Isaacson, Musk was concerned about Russia responding to the naval attack with a nuclear weapon.
Musk acknowledged that he prevented Ukraine from using Starlink satellites in the raid but said he rejected a request to extend the internet service.
"If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation," Musk wrote on X.
The decision has drawn intense scrutiny from Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Musk prevented the destruction of Russian ships that went on to bombard Ukrainian cities.
"This is the price of a cocktail of ignorance and big ego," Podolyak wrote on X.
Starlink is the backbone of the communications network for Ukraine in the war. Musk provided the service to the country in early 2022 after Russia shut down Ukrainian communication services.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
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