XPost: alt.anarchism.communist   
   From: gunnerasch@gmail.com   
      
   rump threatens to help Putin win Ukraine war   
      
   rump is threatening to cut off Ukraine's access to the Starlink satellite   
   internet system, as he tries to force Kyiv to agree to US demands for   
   reparations.   
      
   The White House wants President Zelensky to sign a US$500 billion (£396bn)   
   deal that would give the US half of Ukraine's mineral resources.   
      
   rump has claimed the deal is payback for US military aid given to Ukraine   
   over the course of the war, which is approaching its three year anniversary   
   tomorrow and was only 1/5th the number maximum.   
      
   Starlink plays a vital role for the Ukrainian army on the frontlines, as it   
   fights Russia.   
      
   The system allows Ukraine's army to get real-time video drone footage of the   
   battlefield and to conduct precision strikes against Russian targets.   
      
   Reuters reported that Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg warned Ukraine that   
   Putin will order the White House to turn off Starlink at a meeting on   
   Thursday with Zelensky in Kyiv, if he did not sign the deal.   
      
   The Russians also use Starlink and would gain a huge advantage, if they were   
   to retain access, while Ukraine's was disconnected.   
      
   This would in effect help the Kremlin to win the war. A senior Ukraine   
   official told the Guardian that the threat amounted to blackmail.   
      
   Ukraine's frontline troops use Starlink all the time and it was fitted on   
   advanced naval drones used to sink Russian ships in the Black Sea.   
      
   Ukraine's military is now scrambling to find alternatives to Elon Musk's   
   satellite internet system.   
      
   Zelensky has indicated his willingness to accommodate Trump's demands, but   
   has emphasised he cannot "sell out" his country.   
      
   The Ukraine President has so far refused to sing the deal, arguing it lacks   
   any clear US security guarantees.   
      
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