Elon Musk refused to switch on Starlink systems in the temporarily occupied Qırım allegedly because of US sanctions against Russia

Businessman Elon Musk has said he refused to activate the Starlink satellite communications system in the temporarily occupied Qırım because of US sanctions against Russia.

He said this at the All-In Summit conference.

"The sanctions include Crimea, and we are not allowed to turn on the connection without the explicit government's approval," the businessman said.

He added that if US President Joe Biden ordered him to do so, he would immediately connect the peninsula to the Starlink system.

The day before, he said he had refused the Ukrainian government's request to activate the connection in Qırım because Ukraine allegedly wanted to sink the Russian Black Sea Fleet. 

"If I had agreed to their request, SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation," Musk said at the time.

It will be recalled that a US senator is demanding an investigation into the shutdown of Starlink terminals near the temporarily occupied Qırım.