Elon Musk shared a message given to Russian media by Rogozin, the chairman of Russia‘s government space agency Roscosmos, on Twitter on Sunday (May 8). The memo alleged that the US military had provided equipment for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-internet system to Ukrainian marines and “militants of the Nazi Azov battalion.”
According to an English version uploaded by Musk, “Elon Musk is therefore complicit in arming the fascist troops in Ukraine with military communication technology.” (A Russian version was also tweeted.) “And for this, Elon, no matter how much you play the fool, you will be held accountable like an adult.”
“It’s been good knowing ya,” he wrote, even if he died mysteriously.
Musk does not appear to be concerned about his safety, which is understandable considering Rogozin’s proclivity for bluster and hyperbole. For example, the Roscosmos chairman has frequently stated that if sanctions imposed in the aftermath of the invasion are not lifted, Russia may withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) programme, yet the orbiting lab is operating as normal.
Musk and Rogozin have previously exchanged insults. Rogozin, for example, said in 2014 that the US should use a trampoline to send its astronauts to the ISS, referring to the fact that the country was fully reliant on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for crewed orbital flights at the time.
(At the time, Rogozin, Russia’s deputy prime minister, was enraged by sanctions imposed immediately after Russia invaded and seized Crimea, which had previously been Ukrainian territory.)
With its groundbreaking Demo-2 flight to the International Space Station in May 2020, SpaceX put a stop to such dependency. Musk gave a six-year-in-the-making retort to Rogozin shortly after the liftoff: “The trampoline is functioning!”
SpaceX, Musk, and the US Agency for International Development have all expressed interest in delivering Starlink terminals to Ukraine to aid the country’s communications infrastructure amid Russia’s continuing assault. In late February, just after the assault began, Ukrainian officials requested such equipment.
