The Chair of the Defence Committee in the European Parliament, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), has reacted with indignation to US media reports alleging that tech billionaire Elon Musk is personally responsible for restricting the vital Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine.
Strack-Zimmermann told media outlets from the Funke group that she found it outrageous, stating that Musk acts as if he possesses the power of life and death. “How sick and corrupted must one be?” asked the FDP politician.
These reports, sourced from US media, indicated that the throttling of the satellite internet crucial for the Ukrainian military stemmed from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s actions. Specifically, the restriction relates to Starshield, the military component of the Starlink system, which currently limits how extensively the Ukrainian armed forces can utilize intercept and attack drones against Russian invaders.
In light of this crisis, Strack-Zimmermann demanded that Europe quickly establish its own high-capacity communication systems. Although she acknowledged that this will not happen overnight, she asserted, “It is our goal to become independent of US technology as quickly as possible,” urging an accelerated pace, shouting for “Speed, speed, speed.”
Tobias Cremer, the political spokesperson for Security and Defence for the Europa-SPD, offered a similar sentiment. He told newspapers that “Europe’s security must not hang on the switch of a single billionaire.” He stressed that if Elon Musk can curtail Ukraine’s defensive capabilities with the push of a button, this serves as a critical “wake-up call” for the continent. Cremer concluded that Europe urgently needs its own reliable satellite communications and must be able to control its critical infrastructure domestically.
