The Russian invasion

Elon Musk. Patrick Pleul / AP  

 

The Russian invasion|The response of the outside world 

Musk shared calls with Ukraine without permission  

Elon Musk allowed Walter Isaacson, the author of his biography, to tap into conversations with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov without asking his permission. This is reported by the Financial Times. 

 

- It doesn't look so good. I have never shown or talked about our conversations in public, says Fedorov to the newspaper.  

 

The forthcoming biography details, among other things, text messages in which Fedorov pleads with Musk to restore the Starlink connection to Ukrainian forces. 

 

Fedorov says he understands why Musk chose to publish them "because I tell him how great he is and that he should save humanity."  

 

Musk has not commented on the data. 

 

Elon Musk. Rebecca Blackwell/AP  

 

The Russian invasion. The outside world's response 

Analysis: What happens when more rich egos enter the game?  

 

Despite the fact that Elon Musk has not always brushed Kyiv aside, Ukraine's leaders have so far been "terrified of angering" him, writes The Economist's correspondent Oliver Carroll on X, formerly Twitter.  

But not now anymore, writes Carroll after Kyiv went on a frontal attack against Musk for preventing a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships. Musk's decision led to the killing of children and civilians when Russia fired robots from the warships in question, presidential adviser Mychajlo Podoljak thundered.  

 

"The government of Ukraine has thrown down the gauntlet," notes Carroll. 

 

When Musk provided Ukraine with access to the Starlink satellite network at the beginning of the war, he was seen as a hero - but perhaps Western governments have been a little too sympathetic to him, writes Dominic Waghorn in an analysis for Sky News. Musk's help has saved money for other governments, but the incident with the stopped Ukrainian attack raises questions about what happens when other mega-rich individuals with big egos want to enter geopolitics, writes Waghorn.  

 

"There are reasons why elected governments have had to deal with diplomacy and international relations […] and not been left in the hands of one man."