Democratic US senators order Musk to preserve records on Ukraine Starlink access
WASHINGTON: Democratic US senators have told Elon Musk to preserve all records related to his company SpaceX’s restrictions on Ukraine’s use of its Starlink and Starshield satellite services. Ukrainian forces say Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink, is vital for frontline communications and drone operations in their defense against Russian drone and missile attacks. But in…
Democratic US senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Coons have instructed Elon Musk to retain all records pertaining to SpaceX's limitations on Ukraine's utilization of Starlink and Starshield satellite services. Ukrainian forces rely heavily on Starshield, the military-grade iteration of Starlink, for frontline communication and drone operations in their defense against Russian drone and missile strikes.
However, in mid-October, Ukrainian officials expressed concern over the sudden restriction of the service, which impeded their military's capacity to execute intricate strike missions against Russian forces and hindered the effectiveness of interceptor drones meant to neutralize Russian attack drones. Senators Shaheen and Coons conveyed their apprehension regarding the possibility that these vulnerabilities might still exist within systems relied upon by the US government, in a letter to Musk.
They granted Musk until November 30 to furnish written proof that "all appropriate preservation measures have been implemented." The lawmakers initiated their request for SpaceX's records on September 1, encompassing all communications concerning Starlink and Starshield in Ukraine, as well as discussions between Musk, SpaceX executives, and the White House and Pentagon.
Shaheen and Coons expressed alarm over the restrictions, deeming them "serious questions" about SpaceX's oversight of communications systems of critical national security importance and criticizing what they characterized as "opaque decision-making." According to Reuters, an order to curtail Starshield service employed by Ukrainian forces was supposedly issued from within the White House.
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio refuted this assertion, asserting that decisions concerning Ukraine's access to the service are determined by SpaceX and Musk. Later that month, Ukraine reported that Starlink and Starshield were functioning normally. On Thursday, however, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy revealed that Ukrainian military units had once again documented disruptions to Starshield communications.
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