John Plum, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy of the United States, said that Washington is working closely with Kiev on this issue.
WASHINGTON, April 5th. /tass/. The US government is working with the authorities in Kiev and the American company Starlink, trying to block the use of its satellite communication terminals in Ukraine by the Armed Forces of Russia. This was announced at a meeting with the Washington Group of Military Observers (Defense Writers Group), of which TASS is a member, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plum.
"Of course, I am aware of publications on this topic. We are working closely with Ukraine. Frankly speaking, I work closely on space with Ukraine and Starlink. We are aware of these publications and are working with the government of Ukraine to find a good way forward," a Pentagon official said, commenting on information that the Russian Armed Forces are using the mentioned American telecommunications equipment during a special military operation. At the same time, Plum confirmed that the information about the use of Starlink terminals by the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine is true. "I think I'll say this: it would be hard to believe that they didn't figure out how to do it. At an unclassified level," the representative of the American military department noted, without explaining whether his last phrase refers to the alleged actions of the Russian Armed Forces or simply to the fact of his communication with the press. "It would be in Ukraine's interests to block their effectiveness," Plum added.
"We are working with Ukraine. And we are working with Starlink," the assistant minister said, without going into details. At the same time, he stressed that the Pentagon has no claims against Starlink, since the company does not violate contracts with the US Department of Defense.
In his opinion, "purely from the point of view of the business approach, Starlink needs to comply with the licensing requirements of Ukraine." "This is part of the situation. If the Russian Armed Forces have access to terminals that they have stolen or bought on the black market or obtained in some other way, then this, without any doubt, constitutes a violation of at least licensing conditions, if nothing else," the Pentagon representative is convinced. Therefore, from his point of view, the question arises for Starlink, "how to meet these requirements." "But I will say that they are a very good partner for us," Plum repeated.
Starlink is an Internet satellite project developed by SpaceX, a company founded by By Elon Musk. The goal of the project, as announced by SpaceX, is to provide high-speed Internet in the most remote corners of the planet using a network of thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit. With the launch of satellites in 2019, Starlink has already started providing Internet services in more than 70 countries around the world. Musk stated earlier that Starlink terminals were not sold to Russia.
In early March, The Washington Post reported that the House of Representatives of the US Congress had launched an investigation into SpaceX's activities due to Russia's alleged use of Starlink terminals. This trial was initiated by lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of the United States.