The head of Russia’s space agency is threatening Elon Musk with consequences for supplying satellite internet to Ukraine with SpaceX’s Starlink system.
On Saturday, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, posted a message to his Telegram channel, condemning Musk for expanding Starlink’s service to Ukraine, which is facing an ongoing invasion from Russia.
In the message, Rogozin accused Musk of supplying the Starlink dishes to the Ukrainian military, which he described as “Nazis.”
“Elon Musk is thus involved in the supply of fascist forces in Ukraine with military communications,” Rogozin added. “And for this you will have to answer in an adult way, Elon, no matter how you play the fool.”
On Sunday, Musk noticed the menacing message, which prompted him to tweet back: “The word ‘Nazi’ doesn’t mean what he seems to think it does.”
In a separate tweet, Musk also wrote: “If I die under mysterious circumstances, it’s been nice knowin ya,” a likely reference to how Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of poisoning his political enemies.
The spat between Musk and Rogozin occurs as Starlink has been delivering high-speed broadband to an estimated 150,000 users in war-torn Ukraine. This has made SpaceX’s satellite internet system an essential tool to keeping parts of the country online.
SpaceX has been delivering the internet to Ukraine through over 10,000 Starlink dishes, which can receive the broadband from satellites orbiting the planet. The Ukrainian government says it’s been deploying the dishes in areas hit hardest by Russia’s invasion, including at hospitals and for military operations.
Ukrainian soldiers have also praised SpaceX's Starlink system. “I want to say one thing: Elon Musk’s Starlink is what changed the war in Ukraine’s favor,” one solider recently told journalist David Patrikarakos. “Russia went out of its way to blow up all our comms. Now they can't. Starlink works under Katyusha (rocket) fire, under artillery fire. It even works in Mariupol.”