Russia

Democrats Probe SpaceX Over Russia's Alleged Starlink Use

MAR 7 2024·Updated MAR 9 2024

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The Facts

House Democrats have opened an investigation into SpaceX over Russia's alleged use of its Starlink satellite internet service in the country's war against Ukraine.
Guardian
Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Elon Musk's company on Wednesday asking it to report on complaints regarding possible illegal acquisitions of Starlink terminals, specifically in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine.
wapo
The letter states that the US Department of Defense reached a deal with SpaceX in June 2023 to purchase 400 to 500 new Starlink terminals for Ukraine. However, last month, Ukrainian intelligence accused Russia of obtaining access to Starlink terminals.
MSN
In their letter sent to SpaceX Pres. Gwynne Shotwell, both Democrats asked if the company had "appropriate guardrails and policies" to ensure the Kremlin wasn't using its technology illegally. US sanctions prohibit sending Starlink equipment directly or indirectly to Russia.
BBC News
In February, Musk had rejected claims that SpaceX was allowing Russia to access Starlink terminals, calling them "categorically false." Democrats, who plan to coordinate with the Pentagon for their investigation, have given SpaceX until 20 March to respond to their queries.
Forbes
The House China committee had previously asked Musk, who maintains that "Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars," to provide SpaceX Starshield access to US troops in Taiwan.
CNBC

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

While Elon Musk may claim that Russia isn't gaining access to Starlink, multiple reports show that the Kremlin is deploying SpaceX technology to aid its brutal invasion of Ukraine. Even if SpaceX isn't completely defying US sanctions by directly providing Starlink terminals to Russia, Musk's company is clearly not implementing the requisite safeguards to prevent Russian interference. Failing to stop Russia from using Starlink amounts to being complicit in its attack on Ukraine, and SpaceX must be investigated for its failures.

Newsweek

Establishment-critical narrative

Paranoid intelligence officials and politicians are falsely accusing SpaceX of providing Starlink terminals to Russia despite obvious evidence to the contrary. SpaceX owner Elon Musk has vehemently rejected claims that Russia was ever granted access to Starlink technology, and he has complied with all of the US sanctions against Moscow. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has also echoed these facts and publicly acknowledges that it has never been supplied with Starlink terminals.

TASS