House Democrats open an inquiry into billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX to determine whether the company took sufficient precautions to stop Russia's alleged unauthorized acquisition of Starlink terminals and compliance with Washington's sanctions and export controls, The Washington Post reported on Thursday citing the observed letter drafted by Democratic Representative of California Robert Garcia (pictured left) and Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin (pictured right).
The lawmakers noted in the letter addressed to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell that Moscow's supposed use of Starlink service represents a "serious threat" to both Ukraine and the United States' national security, as shared by the Post.
Namely, Ukrainian officials claimed that the Starlink network has been active in Ukraine's occupied regions for "a long time," underscoring that Russian private firms as well as Russian army units sought to buy the terminals from intermediaries. Musk previously denied allegations suggesting that his company sold the service to Moscow, with the Kremlin also rejecting the claims.