华盛顿，10月22日 - 美国民主党参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔周四表示，他已就乌克兰失去五角大楼星盾卫星通信服务的关键接入权以及由此导致基辅抵御俄罗斯攻击能力下降的问题展开调查。
WASHINGTON, Oct 22 - Democratic US Senator Richard Blumenthal on Thursday said he had opened an inquiry into Ukraine's loss of critical access to the Pentagon's Starshield satellite communications service and the resulting degrading of Kyiv's ability to defend itself against Russian attacks.
布卢门撒尔在致国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯的信中写道：“10月13日晚间，乌克兰部队失去了对星盾的关键接入权，星盾是SpaceX星链网络的军用版，此前其设备保持与网络连接的速度被限制。”
"In the late evening of October 13, Ukrainian forces lost critical access to Starshield, the military-grade counterpart to SpaceX’s Starlink network, after their access to speeds at which equipment could stay connected to the network was capped," Blumenthal wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
他写道：“这一事件引发了关于谁拥有改变这些能力的技术和法律权力的紧迫问题，以及如果SpaceX提供的服务不可用，五角大楼是否拥有‘足够的替代方案’。”
"The episode raises urgent questions about who possesses the technical and legal authority to alter these capabilities" and whether the Pentagon has "sufficient alternatives" if SpaceX-provided services become unavailable, Blumenthal wrote.
布卢门撒尔是参议院常设调查小组委员会的资深民主党人。他正在寻求有关服务变更是由白宫、国防部还是SpaceX指示的信息。
Blumenthal is the senior Democrat on the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He is seeking information on whether the change in service was directed by the White House, the Department of Defense or SpaceX.
由于共和党控制参议院，民主党缺乏传票权力。布卢门撒尔只能向政府内外官员请求信息和简报。
Republicans control the Senate, so Democrats lack subpoena power. Blumenthal can only request information and briefings from officials within and outside the government.
他说，这一举措使乌克兰部队和平民面临风险，并引发了“关于谁控制着美国政府花费数十亿美元采购的关键能力”的担忧。
He said the move put Ukrainian forces and civilians at risk and raised concerns "about who controls critical capabilities the US government has spent billions of dollars to procure."
乌克兰防御能力被削弱：五角大楼是星盾的最大客户，星盾是星链服务的军用版。
WEAKENED UKRAINE DEFENSES The Pentagon is the biggest customer of Starshield, which is the military-grade version of the Starlink service.
五角大楼一名发言人表示：“与所有国会函件一样，国防部将直接回复信件作者。”乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基10月14日表示，埃隆·马斯克的SpaceX限制了星链服务，削弱了乌克兰的防空能力。
A Pentagon spokesperson said: "As with all congressional correspondence, the Department will respond directly to the authors." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on October 14 said Elon Musk's SpaceX had restricted Starlink services, weakening Ukraine's air defenses.
这场争议发生之际，特朗普政府正在施压基辅停止对俄罗斯能源基础设施的袭击，并鼓励俄罗斯重返谈判桌，以结束其在乌克兰的战争。
The controversy came as the Trump administration was pressuring Kyiv to halt its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and encouraging Russia to return to negotiations over ending its war in Ukraine.
布卢门撒尔告诉黑格塞斯，参议院小组将调查政府与SpaceX技术的互动及依赖情况。他在致黑格塞斯的信中设定了11月5日作为回答嵌入问题的截止日期，并将11月12日定为SpaceX了解“星盾”限制情况的官员进行简报的截止日期。
Blumenthal told Hegseth the Senate panel will look into government interactions with and reliance on SpaceX technology. He set deadlines of November 5 for responses to questions embedded in the letter to Hegseth, and November 12 for a briefing by SpaceX officials with knowledge of the Starshield restriction.
除了这项最新调查，布卢门撒尔一直在试图调查一系列与特朗普政府有关的行动，包括为建造白宫舞厅谈判合同，预估成本为4亿美元，以及与特朗普有关联的加密货币公司。
Besides this latest inquiry, Blumenthal has been trying to investigate a series of actions related to the Trump administration, including contracts negotiated for building a White House ballroom at an estimated cost of $400 million and Trump-linked crypto firms.
如果民主党在11月3日的中期选举中赢得参议院控制权，他很可能会成为调查小组主席。
If Democrats win control of the Senate in November 3 midterm elections, he likely would become chairman of the investigations panel.