A group of senators from both parties in the U.S. Senate has signed a letter demanding an urgent investigation into reports of disruptions to SpaceX’s Starlink internet network in Ukraine. UNN writes about this, citing the BBC.
Details
In the letter sent on Thursday, October 15, to the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Defense, the senators stated that they had "serious concerns" about reports of speed restrictions between October 12 and 14.
The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to suggestions that the United States may have been involved in the alleged slowdown.
The letter, led by Jeanne Shaheen, a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, calls on the inspector general to determine whether the restrictions were caused by the U.S. Department of Defense or its contractors.
It states that "the restrictions reportedly impaired Ukraine’s ability to conduct defensive operations against Russian drone and missile attacks on civilian infrastructure."
Starlink, owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, restricted speeds to 160 km/h on Tuesday evening, meaning that any weapon traveling faster than that speed lost its connection to the network, the outlet notes.
The senators also stated that they were "deeply concerned" by reports of outages or "disruptions" affecting intelligence-sharing capabilities and threat warnings relied upon by personnel conducting activities in Ukraine.
"We are particularly concerned about incidents in which U.S. diplomatic, military, and security personnel were unable to reach designated bunkers during Russian air raids," the statement said.
"Given the potentially deadly consequences, these incidents require an immediate investigation," the senators added.
Signatories to the letter included Republican senators Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and John Cornyn, as well as Democratic senators Richard Durbin, Jack Reed, Richard Blumenthal, and Christopher Coons.
SpaceX owner Elon Musk suggested that the U.S. government may be behind the restrictions. On Wednesday, Musk wrote on X that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government. Any speed or usage restrictions are determined by the U.S. military and, ultimately, [the U.S. president]."
Starlink is a civilian service that uses satellites in low Earth orbit to provide internet access, particularly in remote areas. Starshield, which relies on the Starlink network, is intended for government and military use. Both are owned by Musk’s SpaceX.