Two US House Members Investigate SpaceX Over Russia's Use Of Starlink In Ukraine

JAKARTA - A member of the US House of Representatives from the Democratic Party is investigating SpaceX over concerns that the company is not making enough efforts to prevent Russia from using the Starlink satellite internet service as part of the war on Ukraine. This was revealed by the two members of the House of Representatives on Thursday, March 7.

In a letter to the company, the two members of the House of Representatives stated that Ukrainian intelligence allegations that Russian military forces used the Starlink terminal in eastern Ukraine were deeply worrying and that the use could violate US sanctions.

"The use of the Starlink terminal beyond internationally recognized by Russia poses a serious threat to the security of Ukraine, the lives of Ukrainians, and the national security of the US," wrote US House of Representatives member Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia in a letter to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell.

The Kremlin has denied that its troops used Starlink, a subsidiary owned by Elon Musk owned by SpaceX.

Representatives for SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment on the letter, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

The Starlink terminal provides a high-speed and sudden installation of internet connections to help Ukraine after the Russian invasion in February 2022, which has proven to be very important for communications on the Kiev battlefield.

In February, Ukrainian officials claimed that Russia obtained the terminals from Arab countries and had installed them in areas it controls in Ukraine. Kiev has asked SpaceX to prevent Moscow from using the terminal in its occupied areas.

Starlink has stated that it is not doing business with the Russian government or military, and Musk in a shipment on X last month said that reports that the company was selling the terminal to Russia were fake.

The investigation by members of the US House of Representatives comes as Western countries seek to help Ukraine with more weapons and funding after Kiev' failed counter-offensive last summer and after Russian troops took the initiative on the battlefield again.

Ukraine is preparing for counter-offensive action, more than two years after Russian troops stormed the neighboring country.

Kyiv telah meminta untuk bantuan lebih banyak, tetapi paket bantuan AS yang vital telah terhenti oleh Republik di Kongres atas permintaan mantan Presiden Republik, Donald Trump, yang saat ini melakukan upaya ketiga untuk merebut kursi di Gedung Putih dan telah menghajikan Presiden Rusia, Vladimir Putin.

The Democratic US president, Joe Biden, plans to renew his request for an aid package worth US$95 billion (IDR 1,491.7 trillion) for weapons for Ukraine in his annual state speech on Thursday night.

In their letter, dated Wednesday, March 6, members of the Democratic House of Representatives asked SpaceX to provide a response before March 20.