Hi Global Recap readers,

Today, we have a very interesting story about Musk’s involvement in the war in Ukraine.

Spoiler: I am both skeptical and in awe of CNN’s writing chops.

Besides the Musk piece, we have news about:

• 🇰🇵 North Korea’s new nuclear toy

• 🎾 Climate activists crashing an international event

• 🇨🇳 China turning “on and off” comms like a switch

• 🇧🇾 Lukashenko trapping citizens abroad

• 🇨🇺 Cuba’s latest crackdown on traffickers

Let’s get into it!

📈 Top News

⚓️ Dictator Kim unveils his first tactical nuclear attack submarine. The North calls it a “Korean-style tactical nuclear attack submarine” that can supposedly strike anywhere in the world. Kim attended the launch with a huge grin - praising the sub as a “core underwater offensive means” of his naval force.

However, South Korea responded by casting doubt on whether it even works.

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🎾 US Open crashed. You’ve probably seen those “climate activists” who glued themselves to priceless artworks to protest against fossil fuels. Well, guess what? They’ve moved on to tennis.

The US Open got a sticky surprise when four glue-happy protesters from Extinction Rebellion interrupted a match and demanded a clean energy future. They got their feet stuck to the ground and their hands were eventually cuffed by the cops. They also ruined the semi-final game for Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova.

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🎮 China plays hard to get with U.S. The Pentagon says this is a risky flirt that could end up in a fight over Taiwan. China has been sending jets and missiles to tease the island, while the U.S. wants to talk it out. But China only chats when it feels like it, and ghosts the U.S. when it doesn’t.

Why play such dangerous games?

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🔒 Lukashenko’s latest trick: No passport renewal for Belarusians abroad.

In his latest move, the Belarusian president has effectively trapped his citizens abroad by preventing passport renewals. The catch? They must return to their homeland, where they may face persecution and imprisonment. This is a non-subtle jab at those who fled after the 2020 election and the crackdown on protesters. The U.S. Department called this a “blatant violation of human rights.”

This decree doesn’t just affect the expats, but their families too.

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🚔 Cuba’s crackdown on a Russian recruitment network. 17 were arrested for allegedly recruiting Cubans to fight for Russia in Ukraine. Cuba is distancing itself from the war in Ukraine by denying any involvement in the conflict and condemning the trafficking network as a threat to its sovereignty. Suspects face life in prison or even death.

Click for more

✍️ In-Depth

Ukraine
How Elon Musk Got Involved in the Russia-Ukraine War

Here’s a long & an interesting food for thought for the weekend:

🤔 How do you say no to a war? That’s the question that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk faced when he was asked to help Ukraine attack Russia’s warships with his Starlink satellite network.

According to a CNN report on a new upcoming biography of Elon Musk, Musk ordered his SpaceX engineers to turn off the satellite network near the Crimean coast.

Did he do it on a whim, or was the network deactivated already? Think about this question while reading.

🇺🇦 Ukraine needed Starlink badly. The country was under attack from Russia in 2022, facing a brutal naval blockade and missile strikes. Ukraine needed Starlink’s fast and reliable internet service to communicate on the battlefield and operate its drones.

💫 Starlink to the rescue. Ukraine got its first Starlink terminals in March 2022, after its digital minister implored Musk to help. Starlink helped Ukraine regain its command and control, launch counterattacks, and strike back at Russian targets with drones.

🕊️ But… according to the CNN report, Musk pulled the plug on Starlink over Crimea. Musk thought that would start a nuclear war between Russia and NATO, like a “mini Pearl Harbor”.

👎 Ukraine’s angry reaction. Following the report, a top aide to Ukraine’s president, Mykhailo Podolyak, blasted Musk for letting the Russian fleet rain missiles on Ukrainian cities, killing civilians and kids. He said Musk’s decision was a mix of “ignorance and ego”. Many human rights activists and journalists also slammed Musk for his actions.

🤷‍♂️ Musk’s defense. Musk denied any wrongdoing. He said that Starlink was never on over Crimea and that SpaceX didn’t turn anything off. Instead, the Ukrainian government made an “emergency request […] to activate Starlink to Sevastopol.”

💡 Sensationalism to promote the new book? CNN’s report paints a picture of Musk as a sneaky saboteur who turned off Starlink in the middle of a Ukrainian attack - by saying Musk “secretly” ordered his engineers to switch off the network and how Ukrainian officials were “begging him” to turn it back on.

It’s a bit fishy that CNN’s report still makes sense with Musk’s added context - meaning that CNN was smart with their words to “suggest” a certain story without saying it outright.

• Yes, he may have “ordered his engineers,” but he could have done it way before the attack.

• Yes, the Ukrainian drones could have “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly,” but this could be due to the drones entering an area where the satellites are not activated.

To a first-time reader, it seems like Musk meddled in the Ukrainian attack on a whim.

Was the CNN report a publicity stunt to hype up the new biography coming out on September 12? Actually, let’s have you commit to one side.

🌐 Opinion

The verdict is out!

Is Cuba involved in the Russian trafficking network?

• 94%: Yes, it’s using Russia as a scapegoat.

• 6%: No, they just found out.

All the Yes voters seem to be convinced that Cuba is tactically throwing Russia under the bus.

There was one comment under No, which questioned why Cuba would appease the West now when it’s been living under sanctions all its existence - which is also a revelatory point.

But this one has to be my favorite comment:

I love your detailed answers that show your expertise in geopolitics - I learn a lot from them, which is why I love these polls.

But this one made me choke in laughter because it was a short and sweet zinger that was totally unexpected.