Krystyna Kazakova21:52, 20.10.26
The US administration denied responsibility, but the outages occurred just as US President Donald Trump sharply turned his back on Ukraine.
Even some leading Republicans are demanding answers about who slowed down a critical satellite communications system used by Ukraine and vowing punishment for those responsible. But the Trump administration and its top ally, Elon Musk, have so far provided confused, incomplete and sometimes contradictory answers, CNN reports .
The publication noted that the US administration denied responsibility, but the outages occurred just as US President Donald Trump sharply turned away from Ukraine and refocused on Russia in its years-long war.
“And it seems Musk has repeatedly pointed the finger at Trump in the past week,” the article added.
It is recalled that the scandal began a week ago, when Ukraine accused Musk’s SpaceX company of seriously complicating its defense by suddenly restricting access to the Starlink internet service, which uses satellites in low orbit.
The publication explained that Ukraine used Starlink and its associated military service Starshield for rapid communication, as well as to launch and prevent drone attacks.
Ukraine has also accused the Trump administration of limiting intelligence sharing about future Russian attacks, an accusation the U.S. government denies, the article notes.
The publication noted that Musk’s decision to at least make a gesture towards Trump is also extremely notable, considering that the SpaceX CEO is one of Trump’s main allies and the largest donor to his political party during the midterm elections. He has reportedly spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting the Republican Party.
“Musk could have simply said that the decision on the Starshield program is made by the federal government and left it at that. But he continued: “and ultimately, the president of the United States.” And then he also published a post with the “True” mark,” the article notes.
Amid this confusion, some Republicans in Congress are demanding answers.
In particular, Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick promised on the X Network on Monday that those who restrict Starshield’s activities “will be subject to thorough investigation and held to full accountability.”
He advocates holding congressional hearings and imposing “immediate, severe and punitive budget cuts for any responsible agency or its leader.”
Outgoing senators Tom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas have also joined Democrats in demanding accountability.
The publication noted that Tillis called it either an “unacceptable mistake or omission” or a conscious “decision to clear the field for a Russian attack.”
“Answers may not be forthcoming anytime soon, but this dispute could come to the fore again if Democrats gain control of one or both houses of Congress in January,” the article states.
(c)UNIAN 2026
The publication noted that Tillis called it either an “unacceptable mistake or omission” or a conscious “decision to clear the field for a Russian attack.”
My money is on the latter. TACO is desparate for any kind of victory before the midterms, even if it means a huge number of civilians being slaughtered.