US lawmakers urge Trump to ask Musk to let Ukraine use Starlink to strike Russian ballistic missile launchers
A bipartisan group of nearly two dozen members of the US House of Representatives has urged President Donald Trump to ask Elon Musk to give Ukraine access to Starlink systems to target missile launchers on Russian territory.
Source: a letter sent on Wednesday and obtained by The Hill, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The signatories are seven Republican members of the House of Representatives and 16 Democrats.
"We are writing to urge you to ask Elon Musk to let Ukraine use the Starlink satellite internet system to hunt for missile launchers inside Russia. With one phone call, you could both save lives and give Vladimir Putin greater incentives to negotiate," the lawmakers wrote.
"If Ukraine cannot reliably intercept Russian 'arrows', it must be able to shoot the 'archer'. The Starlink system run by Mr Musk's company SpaceX could help with that," they added.
The Republican signatories are staunch supporters of Ukraine: Joe Wilson, Brian Fitzpatrick and Don Bacon, as well as Carlos Gimenez, Jeff Hurd, Andy Harris and Max Miller, who represents a district with a sizeable Ukrainian population.
"Mr President, we all share the goal of bringing an end to the war in Ukraine and the devastating loss of life it has caused. Unfortunately, Putin presently has no intention of stopping the bloodshed," the lawmakers wrote.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also called for greater US assistance in striking missile launchers on Russian territory.
The bipartisan letter comes as growing numbers of Republicans are expressing their outrage over disruptions to Starlink and its military version, Starshield, in Ukraine.
Background:
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk had ordered Starlink services to be slowed down. It is unclear to what extent Trump was involved in discussions about the slowdown.
- US Republican Senator Thom Tillis is seeking an investigation into the Pentagon's actions with regard to problems with Starlink satellite communications systems encountered by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Subscribe on Patreon to back our journalism long-term.