US Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling for an investigation into SpaceX after allegations that Elon Musk was responsible for preventing Ukraine from using the Starlink satellite network for a planned attack on the Russian naval fleet.
SpaceX has been supplying Ukraine with Starlink terminals since the beginning of the war in 2022 to provide an internet connection for the country精东影业 civilians and military.
However, a new biography of the SpaceX CEO, which officially went on sale on September 12, 2023, claims that Musk secretly ordered the shutdown of the Starlink network to disrupt a Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessel (USV) attack on the Russian naval fleet in Sevastopol, near the coast of Crimea, in 2022.
Musk was quick to deny the claims. However, the outage was confirmed by Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate who, while speaking at the annual Yalta European Strategy meeting on September 9, 2023, said Starlink coverage 鈥渄id not work for some time鈥 in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Budanov added that the system continues 鈥渢o play a significant role鈥 in the battlefield.
Following this, Warren, a member of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services, requested that the Pentagon review its contractual relationship with Musk精东影业 company.聽聽
鈥淩ight now, no one is supposed to make foreign policy for the United States other than the United States government. It is not up to one billionaire to go off in secret and change our foreign policy,鈥 Warren told . 鈥淚 think we need an investigation, both from the Department of Defense and from Congress to look into the arrangement with Elon Musk.鈥
Musk is expected to participate in a closed-door summit of tech executives with senators at the Capitol on September 13, 2023.
While the US is pushing for an investigation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised Musk without referring to the Starlink controversy.
鈥淎s far as private business and Elon Musk is concerned鈥 he is undoubtedly an outstanding person. This must be recognized, and I think it is recognized all over the world,鈥 Putin said during Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum on September 12, 2023.
鈥淗e [Musk] is an active and talented businessman and he is succeeding a lot, including with the support of the American state,鈥 he added.
