MOSCOW, September 15 Three members of the Senate Armed Services Committee The United States called on Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin to provide data on whether Elon Musk limited the operation of the Starlink satellite network near Crimea in 2022 and whether the department has the authority to prevent this from happening again.
The CNN television channel, citing excerpts from Musk's biography, previously reported that the American entrepreneur decided to limit the operation of the Starlink satellite Internet near Crimea and thereby thwarted the Ukrainian attack on the Russian Navy. As CNN noted, Musk was concerned that Russia could allegedly respond with nuclear weapons in response to a “little Pearl Harbor.” Musk later denied reports that he had limited the operation of the Starlink service off the coast of Crimea. According to him, the system did not work in these regions; they asked to turn it on, but he did not give consent.
«The reports raise serious concerns about whether Musk personally intervened to undermine a key US partner at a critical moment, and if so, how and why he was allowed to do so and what actions the Department of Defense will take or has taken to prevent these actions,” NBC quoted the text of the letter from Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Tammy Duckworth and Elizabeth Warren.
In their opinion, Musk's decision provided the Russian forces with «de facto protection.» Senators asked Austin whether further legislative changes were needed to help the department.
According to the TV channel, senators expect to receive an answer by October 31.