Senator Warren calls for an investigation into SpaceX after blocking Ukraine's access to Starlink near Crimea, which caused a naval drone attack on Russian warships to fail

By: Maksim Panasovskiy | 12.09.2023, 15:13
Senator Warren calls for an investigation into SpaceX after blocking Ukraine's access to Starlink near Crimea, which caused a naval drone attack on Russian warships to fail

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Armed Services Committee, is demanding that the US Congress investigate the story of Ukraine's cutting off access to Starlink satellite internet service near the coast of Crimea.

Here's What We Know

It was recently reported that Elon Musk secretly forced SpaceX engineers to shut down Starlink near Crimea as Ukraine prepared to launch a maritime drone strike against Russian warships. Elizabeth Warren believes the US Congress should investigate to find out exactly what happened.

Investigating the story of Starlink blocking Ukraine will solve another important problem. It will allow us to understand whether the US has adequate tools to ensure that the government, and not just one billionaire, guarantees the implementation of foreign policy. The senator also suggests that the Pentagon look into the SpaceX contracts.

In fairness, it should be noted that Ilon Musk told his version of events. He did not switch off Starlink, but refused to switch it on. According to him, access to satellite internet near the coast of Crimea was initially blocked. The Ukrainian side asked to activate Starlink in the region, but Musk decided that such a decision would drag SpaceX into war and escalation.

Source: Bloomberg