US Senator Warren demands probes into Starlink shutdown that disrupted Ukrainian attack on Russian fleet

The US Congress should investigate the Starlink shutdown disrupting the Ukrainian attack on the Russian fleet, says Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts.

According to Bloomberg, Warren, who is also a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Forces, demanded probes into SpaceX after Elon Musk admitted he blocked Ukraine's access to Starlink to prevent an attack on Russian warships at bases in the occupied Crimea last year.

"The Congress needs to investigate what's happened here and whether we have adequate tools to make sure foreign policy is conducted by the government and not by one billionaire," Senator Elizabeth Warren said Monday at the Capitol.

SpaceX CEO Musk is expected to be among tech executives attending a closed-door meeting with US senators at the Capitol on Wednesday, September 13.

Warren said she also wants the US Department of Defense to review its relationship with Elon Musk's company.

Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, also said he was concerned about the issue, given that governments traditionally have controlled satellites and presidents decide what to do with them.

He also said that there have been very positive changes when SpaceX reduced the cost of access to space, including for launches of national security interests. "But he can't be the last word when it comes to national security," he said of Musk.

What we know about the disrupted Ukrainian attack on the Russian fleet near Crimea

Earlier, CNN reported that Elon Musk allegedly secretly ordered his engineers to turn off the Starlink satellite communication network signal near the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea. He allegedly wanted to prevent an attack by Ukrainian naval drones on a ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.

In reacting to this information, Musk said that he did not give the order to his specialists to turn off the Starlink satellite communication network near Crimea. He only rejected Ukraine's request for its activation in this region. "The regions in question have not been activated for Starlink use. SpaceX has not deactivated anything," Musk wrote on X (Twitter).

Ukraine's defense intelligence said their inquiry would check whether the American billionaire Elon Musk secretly forced engineers to turn off the satellite network over Crimea to prevent Ukraine from attacking the Russian fleet.

Starlink in Ukraine

At the beginning of the full-scale war, Elon Musk's company provided Starlink terminals to Ukraine to ensure communication at the front and in the front-line areas. According to the latest data, Ukraine received 42,000 terminals delivered by SpaceX and Ukrainian partners.

In the fall, Elon Musk's SpaceX turned to the Pentagon with a request to take over the financing of the Starlink satellites, which the Ukrainian military's communication depends on in the combat zone.

At the time, the Pentagon confirmed that they were discussing the financing of Starlink in Ukraine after Musk's appeal. As Rubryka reported, the American billionaire retracted his words and announced that he would continue financing Starlink in Ukraine. However, the Pentagon decided to find a way to keep Starlink working or a suitable backup option in Ukraine for the foreseeable future.