Democrats ask Musk to preserve documents on Starlink in Ukraine

Dana Hull, Bloomberg News on Nov 13, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have asked SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk to “preserve all documents, communications and electronically stored information” related to the company’s Starlink and Starshield systems in Ukraine,” according to a letter released Friday.

Democrats, who have gained at least eight seats in the Senate, have vowed to make the company’s role in the war in Ukraine a key issue when the new Congress is seated in January.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said restrictions had reappeared on Starshield internet terminals used by frontline troops to deter Russian attacks. The development threatened a repeat of the situation last month when Ukraine reported similar limitations in its use of the system provided by SpaceX.

“Recent restrictions on those services — which have occurred as Russia continues to carry out strikes on Ukrainian civilians — disrupted critical air defense capabilities, endangered American personnel and raise serious questions about the control SpaceX has over critical communications capabilities,” Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Chris Coons of Delaware wrote in the letter to Musk.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the letter. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday night.

Musk has asserted that Ukraine’s military violated Starlink’s terms of service, something Ukraine has disputed.

“The United States cannot permit critical national security capabilities to be subject to opaque decision-making or unilateral disruption without government authorization and accountability,” the senators said in the letter.