Elon Musk points finger at Ukraine over (alleged) ‘massive cyberattack’ on X

Ukraine is now caught in a tough balancing act. On one hand, there's pressure to negotiate peace, especially as some countries grow weary of prolonged support due to economic concerns and political shifts. On the other hand, any peace deal that doesn't secure Ukraine's sovereignty and security risks being just a temporary pause before further conflict.

Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday, 11 March, hinted at Ukraine’s link with the cyberattack on X that led to massive global outage on his social media platform.

Millions of users across Europe, North America and Asia, including India, were unable to access the micro-blogging platform on Monday for long periods. According to outage tracking platform DownDetector, the X outage peaked at around 15:00 hours.

Speaking to media Musk alleged that the massive cyberattack had digital traces originating from Ukraine.

"We're not sure exactly what happened, but there was a massive cyberattack to try to bring down the X system with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area," Musk was quoted as saying in an interview with Fox News.

During the downtime, X stopped working completely, and more than 40,000 users experienced connectivity issues and were unable to post tweets or even open pages on the platform.

Confirming the outage as a cyberattack on X, Musk on Monday said he will trace those behind it.

“We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing...,” said the Tesla and SpaceX CEO in a post.

“There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X,” he said, adding that it is an attempt to silence him and his platform, even as he as an adviser to US President Donald Trump, continued to criticise Ukraine.

Recently, Musk also claimed that Ukraine's front line "would collapse" without his Starlink satellite service, but assured he would not revoke access.

He also amplified his claims by sharing a post, suggesting that the attack was part of a campaign against him.

The post linked the cyberattack to recent protests against Musk's leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and acts of vandalism against Tesla facilities.

Musk has a history of making bold claims—sometimes without clear evidence.

Musk’s influence in global politics has grown significantly, especially with his control over Starlink and his statements on international conflicts. His stance on Ukraine has shifted multiple times—first providing Starlink to aid its defense, then later restricting its use in certain operations. If he’s framing this attack as retaliation, it could further polarise the debate over Ukraine’s role in global cyber activities.

Cyber warfare has become a key battleground in modern conflicts, and Ukraine itself has been a frequent target of Russian cyberattacks. If Ukraine (or any group linked to it) were involved, it would raise questions about motivations and potential retaliation. But it’s also possible that Musk or other political leaders are jumping to conclusions without solid proof.

Elections in key Western nations, like the US and EU states, are also playing a big role. Leaders are adjusting their stances based on domestic priorities, and some may see Ukraine as less of a priority compared to economic issues or internal politics.

With IANS inputs