Sen. Warren assails Musk’s actions, calls for investigation
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling for an investigation after Elon Musk denied Ukraine’s military access to SpaceX’s Starlink internet services, which prevented an attack on Russian warships last year, Bloomberg reported. Musk is one of several tech executives scheduled to meet with Warren and other lawmakers Wednesday in Washington.
“Congress needs to investigate what’s happened here, and whether we have adequate tools to make sure foreign policy is conducted by the government and not by one billionaire,” the Massachusetts Democrat said.
Musk’s refusal also means the U.S. military may need to be more explicit in future contracts because there is an “expectation” that goods and services could be used for combat, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said at an Air Force Association convention Monday in Maryland.
Musk said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, last week that he received an emergency request to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol, Ukraine. It was obvious that the goal was to “sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor,” Musk wrote. “If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation,” Musk said.
Developments:
⬤ Ukraine “successfully struck” a Russian drone base operating out of the occupied Donetsk region, the military’s Strategic Communications Directorate said on Telegram. No information on casualties or damage was immediately released.
⬤ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vetoed a bill that would have allowed lawmakers to keep secret for one more year some of their assets. Zelenskyy wants immediate transparency, a crucial factor in Ukraine’s efforts to join the European Union.
North Korea’s Kim is in Russia as Putin tries to reload
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday for talks with President Vladimir Putin on trade, cultural exchanges and “sensitive spheres, which should not be publicly revealed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media. That likely translates into weapons and ammunition deals Moscow desperately needs to continue its stalled invasion of Ukraine.
Peskov said Kim’s heavily armored train rolled into Russia for talks will take place at an undisclosed time at an undisclosed site in eastern Russia − and no news briefings were planned before or after the discussions, he said.
Peskov said Russia was ready to discuss U.N. Security Council trade, banking, scientific and technical sanctions against North Korea. He also said the Kremlin was not interested in White House warnings to North Korea against selling arms to Russia, saying Kim and Putin “will be guided by the interests of our two countries.”
Pope Francis will send special Ukraine envoy to China
Pope Francis is sending his special Ukraine envoy, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, to Beijing, the Vatican announced Tuesday. Zuppi’s three-day visit begins Wednesday. Zuppi, in Berlin for the Audacity of Peace summit, said Ukrainians must be able to determine their own path to peace but that all parties must be involved in the peace process.
“The visit forms as another step of the mission desired by the Pope to sustain humanitarian initiatives and to seek paths that may lead to a just peace,” the Vatican said.
No surprise: Putin-backed party wins big in ‘sham’ election
The United Russia party won legislative supermajorities in all four of Russia’s “new” regions illegally annexed by Russia as well as Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014, the Central Election Commission announced. United Russia strongly supports Putin. Ukraine officials and most Western countries dismissed the election as a sham and violation of international law. The State Department issued a statement ahead of the voting that described it as “nothing more than a propaganda exercise.” The European Union said it does not recognize the elections or the results.
“Russia’s political leadership and those involved in organizing them will face consequences of these illegal actions,” the EU statement said after the results were announced.