1. United States
  2. Wash.
  3. Letter

An Open Letter

To: Rep. DelBene, Sen. Cantwell, Sen. Murray

From: A verified voter in Kirkland, WA

October 20

Lift the speed cap on Ukraine's Starshield Congress, we want the 100 mph speed cap on Ukraine's Starshield and Starlink terminals lifted. Use your oversight and your spending power to make it happen. Then find out who ordered it and make them say so under oath. Ukrainian officials said a speed limit hit their Starshield terminals with no warning October 14. Any drone that goes over it loses its connection. Ukraine says that has hurt its interceptor drones against Russian jet-powered Shaheds and slowed supplies to the front. Service came back for slower-moving terminals on October 15. The cap is still there. Elon Musk says Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government, and that the military and ultimately the president decide any limits. Reuters reported that the White House ordered the restrictions. Trump denies it. Rubio says the administration had nothing to do with it— that some things “just happen”!? Zelenskyy says the signal came from Washington and points out that the limits apply in Ukraine and not in EU countries, which they proved through tests. Somebody made this call. Nobody will say who. That is where Congress comes in. A Pentagon contract took Starshield in Ukraine from about 500 terminals to roughly 3,000 in late 2024. The Pentagon holds the contract. You hold the money. Use it. US tax dollars built the system for billions. We are asking you to require the Pentagon and SpaceX to lift the cap and restore full service. Demand a written answer on who ordered the restrictions and why. Hold a public hearing and put the people involved under oath. And pass a law that gives Congress advance notice before anyone limits a US-controlled satellite service that a partner at war depends on. Ukrainian soldiers are fighting with tools we helped put in their hands. Nobody gets to quietly turn the speed down and hope no one notices. America’s allies will never forgive us for Trump’s betrayal of Ukrainians.

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