US Senator Richard Blumenthal, a co-author of the Russia sanctions law named after Lindsey Graham, has issued a sharp statement on the latest developments in Ukraine. He says that President Donald Trump and SpaceX chief Elon Musk should be held accountable for reported Starlink failures that could cripple Ukraine’s defense.
On 14 October, Ukraine’s military reported a Starlink disruption that halted its operations. It happened at the same time the country’s air defense stopped receiving intelligence on a Russian ballistic strike that killed three people in Kyiv. Both failures came right after the US struck a diesel deal with Russia, letting low volumes of fuel into global markets and America while pressure grew on Ukraine to stop hitting the Russian oil refineries that raise the cost of the war.
"Reports of Starlink failing in Ukraine are deeply alarming— potentially crippling air defense against Russia’s murderous missiles & drones. Trump & Musk must be held accountable," he says.
When the network falters, the war feels it
The alarm rests on how completely Ukraine leans on the system. SpaceX has reportedly throttled the StarShield military package Ukrainian drones use, with connections dropping once the drones move at speed, and breaking a series of missions.
Ukraine neither owns nor controls Starlink, and the latest limits revived long-running fears that its battlefield lifeline can be dialed down from outside the country.
Blumenthal’s demand sits inside a broader revolt in Congress. A bipartisan group of 12 senators wrote Trump on 13 October urging him to rescind his deal letting Russian diesel back to market, calling the Treasury’s General License No. 135 a gift to Moscow that should be withdrawn.
They pressed him instead to use the Graham-Leach-Bliley Act he signed in September to squeeze Russia and its enablers, above all, China.
"If there's one lesson from Trump's mindless warmongering, it's that we need to break our dependence on foreign imports of fossil fuels & embrace alternate sources of energy," he said.
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