- Category
- World
23 US Lawmakers Urge Trump to Unlock Starlink for Ukraine to Target Russian Missile Launchers
Prefer U24 Media on Google
- Authors
![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
Twenty-three members of the US House of Representatives, including 16 Democrats and seven Republicans, urged President Donald Trump on October 21 to help Ukraine gain access to Starlink inside Russia to locate and target Russian missile launchers.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
This was reported by The Hill on the same day, citing a bipartisan letter sent to Trump and obtained exclusively by the outlet. The lawmakers called on the president to persuade SpaceX owner Elon Musk to lift restrictions preventing Ukraine from using Starlink to locate missile launch systems on Russian territory.
“If Ukraine cannot reliably intercept Russian ‘arrows,’ it must be able to shoot the ‘archer,’” the lawmakers wrote in their appeal to Trump.
The signatories argued that expanding Ukraine's access to Starlink would help protect civilians from Russian missile attacks while increasing pressure on the Russian leader Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war.
The seven Republican signatories included Representatives Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Max Miller of Ohio, Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Jeff Hurd of Colorado, and Andy Harris of Maryland.
Sixteen Democratic lawmakers also endorsed the request, demonstrating bipartisan support for expanding Ukraine's ability to strike Russian missile launch infrastructure.
The lawmakers emphasized that Ukrainian authorities had already approached Musk about securing an exception to existing restrictions. They argued that Trump's direct intervention could resolve the issue and enable Ukrainian forces to use the satellite network against launch sites inside Russia.
-6ead6a9dd508115a5d69759e48e3cad1.jpg)
The initiative also reinforces efforts by Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who led a congressional delegation to Ukraine the previous week. Republican Representative Dan Crenshaw, who participated in the visit, separately advocated expanding Ukrainian access to Musk's satellite network.
Earlier, Ukraine has faced new restrictions on Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade satellite service. On October 14, Ukrainian forces were forced to cancel drone missions after moving terminals began losing connectivity, with some aircraft experiencing outages at speeds of around 110–120 km/h.
Discuss this article:
-d32043ebe6285f4a9b9f0c430b3ec549.jpg "Volodymyr Ananiev, a 77-year-old Crimean political prisoner sentenced by a Russian court to 18 years in prison. (Source: Crimean Tatar Resource Center)")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
-bf3d4f1a7fb86571f7eadc5863ca53e1.jpeg "David Adrian Kercso appears in a Russian courtroom after being accused of spying for Ukraine. (Source: Russian media)")
-c439b7bd9030ecf9d5a4287dc361ba31.jpg "Photo of Katherina Popilnichenko")