Blinken said this in an interview with CNN, as Ukrinform reported, citing the US State Department.

A reporter asked the Secretary of State: “SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently confirmed… last year he blocked access to the Starlink satellite network in Crimea to prevent a major Ukrainian attack on the Russian fleet. In other words, Musk effectively sabotaged the military operation of U.S. ally Ukraine against the aggressor country Russia, which was occupying U.S. ally territory. Will there be any consequences after this?”

Blinken said he couldn’t talk about a specific episode. But in his opinion, Starlink was “a vital tool for Ukrainians to communicate with each other, especially for the military in their efforts to protect the entire Ukrainian territory.”

“So we hope and expect that this technology will remain fully available to the Ukrainians. This is vital to what they do,” the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized.

According to Blinken, Starlink is an important part of Ukraine’s success in recovering regions captured by Russia. “We expect this to continue,” he added.

Musk reportedly ordered the shutdown of Starlink near Crimea last year to prevent Ukraine’s attack on the Russian Navy. He allegedly feared that Moscow would respond to such an attack with nuclear weapons.

Photo: STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images