r/worldnews • u/Puzzleheaded_irl • 18h ago
Russia/Ukraine ‘We Pay for It’: Germany Demands Starlink Restrictions in Ukraine Be Lifted
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/87287403
u/Puzzleheaded_irl 18h ago
Germany has demanded that restrictions on Starlink satellite communications in Ukraine be lifted, arguing that equipment financed by Berlin must remain operational.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany was seeking answers from the US about the disruptions, though it did not yet have a complete picture of their cause, German broadcaster ntv reported.
“These restrictions must be lifted,” Wadephul said, arguing that Germany finances some of the Starlink equipment used in Ukraine.
“And so, of course, we insist that it works if we are paying for it. Ukraine must continue to receive full support,” he said.
Wadephul’s remarks added diplomatic pressure over disruptions to a service Ukrainian forces use for communications, drone operations, and frontline logistics. But Wadephul stopped short of identifying who was responsible.
Germany had questions for the US “that we will clarify,” he said.
Sources in Ukraine’s defense ministry told Kyiv Post on Thursday morning, Oct. 15, that Starshield connectivity while in motion had been restored and remained operational, according to reports from military units. However, the sources did not specify the speeds at which the service was functioning or whether any speed restrictions remained.
The ministry was continuing communications to establish the reasons and circumstances behind the previous day’s restrictions, the sources said.
That update confirmed the resumption of service but did not establish what caused the disruption or how it was resolved.
On Wednesday, ministry sources told Kyiv Post that SpaceX had introduced speed restrictions overnight without advance warning to Ukraine’s defense forces.
They described a limit of 160 kilometers per hour, or about 100 mph, although units reported losing connectivity at speeds ranging from approximately 72 to 161 km/h (45 to 100 mph).
The restrictions hampered drone missions, including interceptor and medium-range strike operations, and reduced capabilities for logistics, reconnaissance, and communications relay.
Ukraine is seeking to raise the operating speed limit to 450 km/h (280 mph) to allow interceptor drones to pursue faster Russian aerial threats, including jet-powered drones.
Dan Rice, president of American University Kyiv and a former special adviser to Ukraine’s military commander-in-chief, warned that such restrictions could have deadly consequences.
Speaking to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Rice described the scale of the threat facing Ukrainian air defenses.
“When you have 500 inbound Shaheeds, jet-powered Shaheeds, and I was hit within 400 meters [1,312 feet] twice this week,” he said, “you need to have interceptors going out to protect Ukrainian civilians.”
Rice warned that interference with high-speed interceptor operations could allow Russian drones to reach civilian targets, including schools, hospitals, and residential buildings.
Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the restrictions also impaired Ukrainian drone missions against Russian military logistics and command facilities approximately 150-250 kilometers (93 to 155 miles) behind Russian lines.
The consequences extend beyond battlefield efficiency.
In an interview with Piers Morgan on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the restrictions had already cost Ukrainian lives.
“People are dying because of his decision,” Zelensky said.
“I’m sure that they knew what they did. Absolutely,” he added.
However, the Ukrainian leader stopped short of identifying who had ordered the restrictions.
“I don’t know, him or somebody pushed him to… I don’t know really,” Zelensky said when asked whether he was angry with Elon Musk.
“We are professionals. If you are losing the speed of Starlink, we understand what’s going on. So they switched off. That’s their decision,” he added.
The controversy has also clarified who ultimately controls the military satellite system.
Starshield is a government-focused version of SpaceX’s Starlink network, developed for military and national security operations. Unlike commercial Starlink, the Starshield services at issue operate under US government control.
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s chief executive, confirmed Wednesday that restrictions on the system were a government decision.
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk wrote on X.
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u/bastiVS 14h ago
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s chief executive, confirmed Wednesday that restrictions on the system were a government decision.
Oh look, at the very end of the article it clears up its own misinfo that it spreads by confusing StarShield with StarLink.
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u/Iwantmoretime 13h ago
How long will US and SpaceX officials dick around pointing the finger at eachother though? "We can't fix it because it's not us!" And neither of them will be able to figure it out until it's convenient or too painful for them.
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u/LongJohnSelenium 13h ago
Its literally illegal for musk to fix. He cant go around the federal governments back and provide weapons to some other country when the military/state department said not to.
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u/Iwantmoretime 12h ago edited 5h ago
Initial reports had the White House denying the Gov was responsible: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/white-house-denies-involvement-starlink-005600992.html
Looking up the news from probably more reputable sources this morning, it looks like blame is being pointed to lower level people within the DoD.
So you're right, this would be on the U.S. Gov. Based on timing of recent comments from the Trump Admin and Musk and the fact that it seems to have taken two days to identify who made the decision and who's responsible for what, I'm standing by my opinion that they are all assholes.
Edit: I've now seen several updates referencing Musk suggesting to Trump they choke starlink and Trump agreeing with it. The admin seems to be saying Trump never actually gave an order as a way to sow confusion and provide denial as if some rando at the pentagon did this on their own. Overall it sounds like Musk's idea and Trump happy to go with it.
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u/ItsAllOnUHF 18h ago
If Musk continues to dick around with Starlink, European countries should pull their spectrum licenses.
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u/Due-Communication724 18h ago
Even better, create our own system
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u/RangeCreed 17h ago
They are it's called IRIS²
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u/I_Never_Use_Slash_S 17h ago
How’s it coming along? About ready to be deployed or?
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u/Wyciorek 17h ago
Bunch of contracts signed, but I don't think anything is yet in orbit. Interesting that a month ago Korea signed an agreement about their future participation in Iris2. I guess they also got spooked by increasingly erratic US govt and SpaceX antics
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u/Plus-Visit-764 17h ago
Is there a reason Europe is lagging behind so bad?
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u/writewithparagraphs4 17h ago
they have no lift capacity compared to spacex.
Ariane is a total disaster.
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u/Nozinger 17h ago
they have plenty of lift capacity. These satellites ain't big.
The main difference it that it actually is an official big project which comes wth a huge beurocratic overhead compared to the 'lol lets fuck some shit up' aproach that starlink was able to use.On the other hand this also means it is way better plnned than starlink. For example with actually stable, higher orbits so you also need less satellites and crucially don't need to replace them all the time.
But yeah it is mostly just planning stuff that drags on for a long time which is normal with that many parties involved. The final specification was just done earlier this year.
So with satellite assembly starting probably next year and all of that having an operational system by 2029 is actually not that bad.
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u/frilly_socks 16h ago
Capacity can mean more than weight. It's the amount or rather availability of launches. It's why they're developing a reusable Ariane set to debut in 2030.
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u/ComplicatedAirFlow 12h ago
On the other hand this also means it is way better plnned than starlink. For example with actually stable, higher orbits so you also need less satellites and crucially don't need to replace them all the time.
That's an intentional design choice. Higher satellites mean higher ping.
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u/slonk_ma_dink 11h ago
Yeah, that's the whole point of low orbit. Don't people remember how god-awful the original satellite internet connections were? It was less a technical limitation (although that didn't help) and more of one of physics. As the technology improved on the network side, pings still sucked, because it takes a while to get something to a point in stable orbit and back twice (user to satellite, satellite to ground connection, and then backwards as the packets return from the wider internet).
Starlinks big "revolution" was to just have satellites closer to earth, even if they fall out of orbit more often. Lower distance = lower ping.
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u/Loki-L 17h ago
There are plans, but the big issue is that the leaders of European rocketry refused to do the reusable rocket thing, that Elon's SpaceX pioneered and that now everyone else tries to copy.
Ariane 6 is a nice rocket but not reusable and thus not as cheap or frequent.
It would be hard to build a big satellite network with the sort of rockets we have.
I blame the French.
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u/Leon_84 17h ago
No matter what, always blame the French 😊
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u/skalouKerbal 17h ago
Yes but we know it's Germany fault (when not the English)
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u/missbohica 17h ago
You mean Spain, right? Somehow they are always to blame. Now, if you'll excuse me, the paella is ready.
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u/ants_are_everywhere 17h ago
France is the king of industrial espionage. They probably figured they'd let the Americans foot the bill for the design work and then just help themselves to the result.
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u/Crypt33x 16h ago
...Meanwhile the US plundered our whole patent archive and won the race to the moon with it against the Soviet Union, which plundered our patent archive as well and won the space race. Just normal post ww2 things.
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u/PandaEatPanda 17h ago
The head of Ariane spoke out against reusable rockets as that would cost jobs.
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u/ElegantBiscuit 15h ago
Europe in general is being held hostage by maintaining jobs and always has been. Another example is German unions pushing the VW CEO herbert diess out in 2022 for trying to cut 100k job cuts and change the company to compete with Chinese EVs, and now 4 years later VW is firing 100k workers and failing to compete with Chinese EVs.
Also about 33% of the EU budget goes to agricultural subsidies, from a high of 75% in the 80s and earlier.
And the generous worker benefits are why people love living in europe, but why also why european companies (especially tech) have a tendency to get bought out and/or outcompeted by american and Chinese companies. Not that removing worker rights is the solution to competition, but some sort of compromise somewhere is necessary to maintain things like digital sovereignty, where now europe is having to scramble to leave US tech platforms.
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u/Ooops2278 14h ago
Is that the reason US companies are using Ariane6 to get their satellites to space (next batch of –iirc– 36 from Amazon are scheduled for end of November)?
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u/Fuzzy-Mud-197 11h ago
Amazon was literally sued by their own shareholders for not using the cheaper and more proven option which was the spacex falcon 9
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u/Waste-Gene-7793 17h ago
It’s not Musk, reporting is the order came direct from the whitehouse. Star shield is under jurisdiction of the pentagon
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u/ItsAllOnUHF 17h ago
Musk is also posting anti-Ukraine stuff. He's just as big a piece of shit as Trump, and probably suggested it to Trump.
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u/Argues_with_ignorant 17h ago
While I hate musk, blame him for what he's actually done. This one is trump's order, clear as day.
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u/AnimalShithouse 16h ago
He helped to get trump elected. We can blame him for everything that came from that, including this.
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u/AllergictoAIslop 17h ago
You make a really good point. People are going to use the spectrum. They are obliged to provide a service. If mobile phone always started pulling stuff. Intellectually how would we feel?.
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u/IndividualSkill3432 17h ago
If Musk continues to dick around with Starlink, European countries should pull their spectrum licenses.
Europe has had over a decade now to recreate Falcon 9 and 5-8 years to work on a real Starlink alternative. On AI, reusable rockets and many other fields, they are falling behind both the US and China. Writing big demands on Reddit may be popular but you have to either have the state pay for, or create conditions for the private sector to develop in those fields.
Europe risks becoming the Qing of the 21st century.
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u/SecurelyObscure 16h ago
There's a real chance that the esa won't have landed its first booster by the time SpaceX retires the falcon 9 for being too outdated.
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u/RobustFoam 17h ago
The USA can no longer be trusted for anything. The rest of the world must build supply chains that bypass them completely.
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u/DrAstralis 16h ago
"buy military gear from us exclusively, but also we're going to put kill switches into everything and fuck with it during active military operations" - united states of pedophillia.
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u/Competitive_Ebb6361 7h ago
I wonder what's the status on those smarty pants fellows from a few months ago saying F-35s operated by EU don't have a kill switch. Are they still so sure about it?
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u/Rhythm_Killer 16h ago
Yeah but let’s not forget while we are at it that dividing the US and EU was all part of someone’s plan. The disinformation networks push at both sides, amplifying calls for Europe to turn its back on the US.
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u/ansibleloop 15h ago
Failing to support Ukraine is turning it's back on Europe
The US government are Russian puppets
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u/Defiant-Plane4557 13h ago
Doesn't change the fact that US is completely untrustworthy at best. Opinions and vibes are irrelevant when considering security.
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u/PremiumTempus 15h ago
It’s not a good relationship when one has 100% control over the other. The fact is the US has meddled in Europe’s institutional and economic development since 1945 and this gave it way too much power.
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u/MalleDigga 14h ago
Exactly. As much one is to dislike dumb americianism (which doesnt mean all are obviously not) who is to profit from this? as a german kid born in 92 i do want my normal usa back that i consider to be the "healthy" and hero generation who helps defeat the right wing ultra world d1ckheads. Thats what i want. Fucking get back on track and make fighting fascism and nazis normal again maybe? You need education.. just like we needed help back then. If one country can do a 180°.. its the united states of America!
gta 6 is not even close to the parody it needs to be for a fair comparison atm
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u/VoopityScoop 15h ago
The Russians are about to win the Cold War, that much is clear
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u/Next-Pass-802 15h ago
Honestly why this was not the first thing every country did the second Trump pulled out his dumb ass list of tariffs is beyond me.
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u/Iwantmoretime 13h ago
Anyone paying an ounce of attention in the summer of 2024 as Eileen Cannon sank the Trump cases and polls showed a close race should have been preparing for this.
Hell, Anyone in the summer of 2021 when it was clear US Attorney General Merick Garland was slow rolling the Trump investigations should have identified MAGA 2.0 as a significant global economic and security risk. They published all their plans in a book called Project 2025.
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u/Icommentor 14h ago
Is it me or Trump is trying to help Russia as much as possible before the midterms?
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u/0bsidian 13h ago
Russia is helping Trump with the midterms. Trump is just being a good friend in return.
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u/Tyrilean 13h ago
He’s been a Russian plant from the beginning. Putin has some serious dirt on him.
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u/Entropic_Echo_Music 12h ago
There is more than enough dirt already out there in the open. I can't imagine what kind of dirt Putin could have that would mean anything at all at this point.
The guy is just an absolute idiot, I don't think it is deeper than that.
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u/nsfwthrowaway5969 12h ago
I thought this at first, but at this point I honestly don't think he does. Trump just likes Putin too much, he wishes he was just like him.
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u/Livid_Importance_442 10h ago
Trump likely owes lots of money to the Russian oligarchs as well because they were about the only ones willing to loan him money (or buy his properties at highly inflated prices) when he was quickly going bankrupt in the 1990s.
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u/Least-Design-6873 13h ago
I mean yes, but he’s also been doing it since he got elected, not just now. This isn’t the first time Elon has turned off the intel.
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u/Money-Pilot6337 11h ago
Its obvious to me he is willing to cut deals with russia because of the oil crisis he caused. He asked Ukraine to stop bombing Russian refineries and they didn’t, so this is the petty outcome. He’s betraying an ally to save himself from the oil problem.
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u/Rocketeer006 12h ago
He absolutely is because Putin ordered him to as he knows Trump's ability to help Russia after the midterms will be limited.
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u/Ascomae 17h ago
I've heard rumours that only the starshield devices, which are under control of the US, were limited. While all other starlink worked normally.
So everything points directly to Trump.
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u/Kmoneee 16h ago
Yes, correct. Nobody actually reads the article. And they buried that part at the end to top it off.
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u/scumbamole 13h ago
When clicking on the link for this particular site, you are greeted with "Accept all cookies" or "Vendor list". If you follow the, "I don't want you and 600 other companies to spy on me" route, you have to individually unselect every fucking vendor from their list.
This is why people don't read the article.
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u/Ascomae 16h ago
You got me. I also didn't read the article...
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u/Positronic_Matrix 16h ago
Reddit, where people won’t read a paragraph of the story but will read paragraphs of wrong information written by people who also didn’t read a paragraph of the story.
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u/AverageTundra 14h ago
Not gonna lie, I do this all the time and then catch myself thinking why the fuck am I reading all these comments by random unvetted people/bots instead of the actual source. Reddit doesn't make it better when most of the stuff on the front page doesn't have any sources (or its behind a pay wall).
I guess it's just easier to scroll than click (as dumb as it sounds) and short snippets of comments are easier to read even if you spend more time in total reading comments than the article.
And I have no doubt that even if I can think critically, my opinion is swayed when I read countless of comments or posts on the front page, even if I'm aware of that most is bs.
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u/thecraftybee1981 16h ago
So America does have a kill switch on their defence technologies and actively uses it whilst its customer is fighting for their lives.
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u/critically_damped 14h ago
And the fact that they will use it on Russia's behalf. It's already bad enough if the kill switch was exclusively reserved to protect the United States from being attacked with those weapons, but it's being explicitly disabled on behalf of fucking Putin.
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u/Iwantmoretime 13h ago
The whole Russian Diesel deal is just the fucking worst and dumbest.
Our tax dollars being redirected to prop up rich Russians for no real economic benefit at the added cost of Ukrainian lives.
It's one of the very few new lows I've been actually disgusted by lately.
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u/Kooky_Win4720 14h ago
"Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense. We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security alone more than the net income of all United States corporations.
Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence—economic, political, even spiritual—is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved. So is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
-Dwight D Eisenhower
Safe to say some didn't listen.
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u/Rich_Magician4516 12h ago
Listen? Heck they used it as a blueprint instead of a warning. Just like the Matrix and Terminator and Titanic.
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u/AboutTimeToDelete 16h ago
Privatization of war kills everyone. Money can't see the difference between enemies and allies.
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u/reggiesdiner 12h ago
This sends a toxic signal for American businesses in the military industrial complex. Why would anyone buy American equipment for their military after this? In particular, the F35 with its “kill switch” that is subject to the whims of any future president.
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u/TarArov 10h ago
The situation really highlights the massive risk of relying entirely on a private tech billionaires private satellite network for essential national infrastructure,, When a single commercial entity can effectively control the communication lines of entire countries during a crisis, it leaves governments in a incredibly vulnerable position,,
and it is a wild reminder that outsourcing critical defense and communications tech to private companies usually backfires when actual geopolitical conflicts kick off,, Hopefully, this serves as a massive wake up call for the EU to finally accelerate their own sovereign satellite alternatives instead of just footing the bill for someone else's platform
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u/Moontoya 17h ago
Using terms and conditions against the manufacturer
How very German
Gwan ye , Slava Ukrani
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u/Maleficent-Visual-12 17h ago
Sadly we don't have affordable alternatives. Otherwise the EU would have switched already
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u/Royal-Lawfulness630 17h ago
Please make musk lose a shitton of money. He is a fucking cunt.
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u/BananaPalmer 13h ago
This was a gift to Putin from the White House. Trump and Hegseth have furnished aid to an enemy of the US.
Literal treason, like the actual legal definition of treason.
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u/Traumatan 18h ago
I though Poland already paid for it
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u/intothewild72 17h ago
Many countries pay for it, even private citizens can donate money for it. There are charities that gather money, buy starlinks and send to Ukraine.
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u/EuphoricCover8449 17h ago
Expecting Washington to honour contracts and the rule of law is hoping for the best these days.
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u/NextGen-Panic 15h ago
The global finance industry also runs on contracts that must be honored, no matter how expensive.
What happens when the entire planet doesn't have enough to pay what they REALLY owe?
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u/kokakamora 15h ago
Realistically, how much work would it be to create an alternative to Starlink?
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u/down_with_opp_42 15h ago
A lot. Eutelsat started ~50 years ago and ~15bn € have been invested into it. Present costs for expansion and maintenance are ~1.2bn € per year.
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u/Grabsch 15h ago
Look up into the night sky and count the starlink satellites.
Then estimate how much it costs to shoot these up into space and understand that its not an overnight fix
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u/MeGoBrrrrrrrrrr 14h ago
Estimated cost would be interesting though
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u/RGINNY940 12h ago
Starlink is only possible because of SpaceX Launch Vehicles.
The satellites all have very low orbits, they deorbit within a few years.
You have to constantly be delivering more and more to space.
Currently, no one has even close to the launch cadence of SpaceX.
SpaceX launched more rockets than the rest of the world combined in 2025.
And beyond that cadence, is price. SpaceX payloads are about 5x cheaper than payloads on other vehicles (500 million $ launch cost, vs $90 million).
Long story short, there wont be a proper competitor for Starlink for many years, and even then, they will still likely not be as cost efficient.
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u/SonOfJaak 15h ago
Amazon is working on it, but it's years away still.
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u/Masam10 14h ago edited 13h ago
You mean Amazon, another American company, who’s CEO frequents the current American president’s events?
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u/Azukaos 15h ago
Amazon is still an US thing, what EU need is an alternative for the EU, no more ingerence from countries that want nothing but pain and suffering from us.
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u/francis2559 12h ago
EU needs reusable launch first, that's what allowed Musk to do this in the first place.
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u/sublurkerrr 11h ago
EU didn't fund innovation and ended up dependent on the US. I hope that changes now.
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u/Einszwo12 15h ago
I worked with the kuiper guys… not trivial. Still have some friends in that org. Pressure is on.
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u/Fabulous_Disk_8956 18h ago
I'd appreciate it if SpaceX would put Elon Musk on a rocket and launch him into outer space.
His 5 billion children will do a good job spreading all the wealth he's hoarding too.
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u/ironbrewcanada 14h ago
This should immediately result in the cancelling of all military purchases from the USA. Remember there is no kill switch in the F35, but... the USA controls all the software (unless you are Israel).
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u/Powerful-Tie7370 16h ago
Why the hell is the European union getting fucked in the same style as me when I owned a HP printer?
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u/DerbyForget 13h ago
The quicker we can stop relying on those fucking idiots across the pond the better.
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u/Tasty_Orange_1714 10h ago
Launch your own system. You know you can't trust Elon. This is not a surprise. End dependence on idiots. Diy.
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u/tismij 9h ago
They are its just not something you can do very fast, takes years. Will happen though and then the US has lost even more of its world power.
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u/CuriousGeorgeToday 15h ago
And this is the reason when people ask why Europe is trying to move away from US tech. They will determine your access to tech you thought would protect you but it's whatever is in their interest.
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u/lateniteearlybird 15h ago
then have the guts to do what Brazil did when they had trouble with X ... sanction them
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u/ddeacon22 16h ago
Depending on your point of view in who is to blame this can be looked at in multiple ways. If Musk was involved or complicit, stop buying from him and outlaw him from government contracts. If this was a US Administration decision, everyone buying software-controlled weapons from the US should cancel the contracts citing national security. I’m thinking F35s etc. if the US will do this for satellites they most certainly will do it with anything they control.
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u/Dapper_1534 17h ago
This is one of the risks of using American tech. They are trying to hold the world hostage.
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u/fauxbleu 17h ago
Imagine if major road and rail work were to block access to Tesla factories
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u/afroafroguy 11h ago
The EU, NATO and all countries that still have a functioning democracy need to mark Elon as an agent of a foreign principal, and flag all his companies, products and services as suspicious/compromised. Besos, Zuckerberg, Theil, Altman all of them should be under investigation for links to Russia and far right political interference. Fuck all of these Billionaire facist pricks.
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u/qqererer 13h ago
And people say that Canadians are being unreasonable when it comes to the still debated remainder of F35s should be cancelled because the US can ground them.
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u/yukumizu 13h ago
Musk pointed the finger to the Whitehouse and now it is reported that the order indeed came from within.
More evidence that the rest of the world should divest and decouple from the US and US corporations.
We have a Russian agent, compromised by Israel (Epstein), who is a traitor to the constitution, as president of the US.
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u/CommanderJarik 9h ago
The UK and EU should nationalize ALL American and Musk properties. Fuck them both.
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u/im_dead_sirius 16h ago edited 6h ago
Its good that the rest of the world is starting to play Trump for money. Implausible profits promised by Putin will be definite income losses from us.
The unsettled, grasping, senile old mountebank will scuttle his own ship chasing mutually exclusive options.
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u/Vanilla_Quark 15h ago
There are Euro satellite internet providers - EU should preference their own satellites
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u/rooplstilskin 15h ago
One day, a foreign entity is going to get real tired of the cult's shit. We'll be in for a rough time then.
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u/Important-Grape-2720 14h ago
I thought Poland was already paying for it?
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u/HellaTroi 13h ago
Germany says they were paying for it.
President Shitsinpants is aligning our country with our arch nemesis Russia, who is helping Iran target our troop bases in the Middle East.
Trump had to have given that order.
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u/nslenders 17h ago
Put the US bases in the EU on dialup speeds for a while. See how they like it.
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u/RobotSpaceBear 16h ago
The subject we're discussing is their satellite Internet capabilities. And youe retaliation idea is to pretend they're using our landlines for their military operations in Europe?
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u/narfoleptix 14h ago
Does nobody else have internet to give them?
Best eay to get rid of a Billy (billionaire) is to make their services uneeded.
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u/AngelOfLight2 18h ago edited 16h ago
This would be an incredible opportunity for Germany or the entire EU to blacklist Musk and his companies for consumer fraud, thereby removing Tesla from the local landscape and boosting their own EVs. Trump may retaliate, but at this point, does Europe even care? Want back in? Reactivate what was already paid for along with extra days to make up for those lost, and a penalty for intentionally witholding services.
The only way American billionaires will still toeing Trump's line is if hurts their chequebook more than doing the right thing.