Russia’s alleged use of Starlink terminals in occupied areas of Ukraine is being investigated by U.S. House Democrats.
In a letter (pdf) to SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell, Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said they are concerned that “Russian forces may have illicitly obtained and used” SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellite terminals.
“Starlink is an invaluable resource for Ukrainians in their fight against Russia’s brutal and illegitimate invasion,” Raskin and Garcia wrote. “It is alarming that Russia may be obtaining and using your technology to coordinate attacks against Ukrainian troops in illegally occupied regions in Eastern and Southern Ukraine, potentially in violation of U.S. sanctions and export controls.”
The Defense Intelligence agency of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said on Feb. 11 it had confirmed the use of Starlink by Russian troops on the front line in occupied areas of the country. Andriy Yusov, a Defense Intelligence agency spokesperson, said the use of Starlink terminals by Russian troops “is growing” and “starting to become systemic.” The agency also released an audio recording it alleged is an intercepted radio transmission of Russian soldiers discussing buying Starlink terminals from Arab countries.
But both the Kremlin and Elon Musk have denied reports SpaceX was selling Starlink terminals to Russian troops. “To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia,” Musk wrote on X on Feb. 11. The following day, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Starlink“is not a certified system with us; accordingly, it cannot be officially supplied here and is not officially supplied” and therefore “cannot be used officially in any way.”
Raskin and Garcia wrote that U.S. sanctions on Russia — as well as President Joe Biden’s executive order prohibiting transactions, trade, or investment in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine — have disrupted some of Russia’s capabilities in its invasion of Ukraine, but that the country has “sought to evade these sanctions” as evidenced by Ukraine’s intercepted radio transmission of Russian troops discussing Starlink use.
Starlink did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Quartz.
“Russia’s misuse of Starlink terminals outside Russia’s internationally recognized borders poses a serious threat to Ukraine’s security, Ukrainian lives, and U.S. national security,” Raskin and Garcia wrote.
The representatives requested that SpaceX answer questions by March 20, including how many reports or complaints it has received about Russia’s possible use of its terminals and what actions the company has taken to block Russia and similar actors from using its terminals.