Musk said that all limits on speed and use of Starshield “are decided by the US military and ultimately by POTUS.” Trump has denied ordering the restrictions and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration had “no prior knowledge” of the slowdown.
Shaheen said yesterday: “It is concerning that the inspector general has apparently decided not to investigate disruptions to satellite communications that Ukraine relies on to protect its civilians,” according to CNN.
Shaheen said the Trump administration and SpaceX have given “conflicting accounts of what led to these disruptions, which weakened Ukraine’s defenses and unnecessarily put U.S. personnel in Ukraine at risk. There must be an independent accounting and review to determine accountability and prevent this from happening in the future. I urge the inspector general to conduct a thorough investigation.”
Putin praises Elon Musk as Russia considers Starlink alternative
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly called Elon Musk a “genius” on Wednesday as he discussed Russia’s plan to build a constellation of satellites. Putin made the comments during the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow.
“This admission was all the more striking given that a version of Starlink, developed by Musk’s SpaceX, has been used by the Ukrainian military throughout the war with Russia as a key component of drone operations and battlefield communications,” Reuters wrote in an article describing Putin’s comments.
Putin reportedly made the comments during a presentation by a Russian government minister who was describing Russia’s first launches of 30 satellites. “Just for a second, I want to emphasize that this is just our first step. Elon Musk is a genius, he’s just a real genius,” Putin said, according to Reuters.
Putin noted that Starlink already operates thousands of satellites, “while we are only taking our first steps,” and said he was in “close contact” with Musk.
“We are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk, because it is very important in orbit not to interfere with each other and to maintain a certain level of discipline and order,” Putin was quoted as saying.
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