WSJ: US senators tell Musk to preserve records on Starlink restrictions in Ukraine
US Democratic senators have told SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to preserve all records relating to restrictions the company imposed on Ukraine's use of its Starlink and Starshield satellite services.
Source: a letter to Musk, which has been seen by The Wall Street Journal; European Pravda
Details: Following their victory in the 4 November midterm elections, Democrats plan to launch a series of investigations into the administration's actions concerning the war in Ukraine when they take control of Congress in January.
The letter refers to service disruptions between 13 and 24 October and on 12 November.
"The October and November restrictions now raise the disturbing possibility that these vulnerabilities persist even within systems on which the US government relies," Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Chris Coons of Delaware wrote in the letter to Musk.
Coons is expected to become the next chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the new Congress convenes. Shaheen is the committee's ranking Democrat but will leave the Senate at the end of her current term.
The senators said the restrictions on SpaceX's satellite services in Ukraine raise "serious questions about the control SpaceX has" over communications channels vital to national security. They also criticised the lack of transparency surrounding these decisions.
The senators have asked Musk to say whether anyone outside SpaceX had authorised the restrictions.
The letter also demands a substantial collection of SpaceX records dating from 1 September onwards. These include all communications concerning the use of Starlink and Starshield in Ukraine, as well as correspondence between Musk, SpaceX executives, the White House and the Pentagon.
Background: A total of 105 members of the bipartisan Ukraine Caucus in the US House of Representatives are calling on the Trump administration and SpaceX to restore the Ukrainian military's full access to the Starshield system.
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