Elon Musk's Spacex Under Investigation Over Russia's Use Of Starlink
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Russian troops in Ukraine have allegedly been using SpaceX's Starlink terminals to get internet access during the ongoing war that has seen hundreds of thousands of casualties on each side. And now, House Democrats are finally asking hard questions of SpaceX leadership about how this could be happening, according to an open letter published on Thursday.
The letter to SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell from some top Democrats in the House makes the case that Starlink's high-speed satellite internet access is considered essential to Ukraine's continued ability to fight against Russia's invasion, which first started in February 2022.
The letter from the Democrats, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Rep. Robert Garcia of California, stresses that Russia's use of Starlink tech would be potentially in violation of U.S. sanctions and export controls."
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on February 15 that Russian troops have been using Starlink internet for quite a long time," according to Ukraine's Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov.
Russia is believed to be acquiring the Starlink terminals from black market sellers, sometimes posing as German appliance manufacturers according to the Journal, but SpaceX leaders presumably have insight into who and how these terminals might be used by illicit Russian actors. For example, Musk shut off Starlink access for Ukrainian-controlled devices in Crimea early in the war, ostensibly to stop an escalation" of the conflict.
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