Nearly two dozen members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to personally contact billionaire Elon Musk. The lawmakers are demanding that Ukraine be given full access to the Starlink satellite system to detect and destroy Russian missile launchers directly on Russian territory.
Nearly two dozen members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to personally contact billionaire Elon Musk. The lawmakers are demanding that Ukraine be given full access to the Starlink satellite system to detect and destroy Russian missile launchers directly on Russian territory.
This was reported by The Hill with a reference to the corresponding letter.
The initiative brought together seven Republicans and 16 Democrats. They emphasize that effective air defense of Ukrainian cities is impossible without destroying attack vehicles at their bases.
“If Ukraine cannot reliably intercept Russian “arrows,” it should be able to shoot down the “archer.” The Starlink system, operated by Mr. Musk’s SpaceX company, could help with this. With one phone call, you can both save a life and give Vladimir Putin additional incentives for negotiations,” the congressmen’s letter says.
Some Republicans are already demanding an investigation into SpaceX’s actions, and are also threatening to block the administration’s legislative initiatives if the policy of supporting Ukraine and restricting satellite communications for its defense needs is not reviewed.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Starlink and Starshield satellite services are operating with failures at high speeds, which significantly complicates the work of the Ukrainian military.
Zelensky later said he had discussed the Starlink/Starshield issues with US Secretary of State Mark Rubio. The president hopes to speak with Rubio again within the next 48 hours about satellite communications, the supply of interceptor missiles, and intelligence sharing.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk personally gave the order to reduce the communication speed for the military version of Starlink in Ukraine.
