US Welcomes Musk's Intention to Continue to Fund Starlink Services in Ukraine - State Dept

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - The United States welcomes Elon Musk's statement that he will continue to fund the Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said on Tuesday.

"We have seen Starlink playing great difference for Ukraine providing that internet access and we certainly welcome Elon Musk’s comments that SpaceX is willing to continue to fund the provision of Starlink to Ukraine," Donfried told a briefing.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently requested the Defense Department to help pay for the Starlink services, which are currently provided to Ukraine at a loss to his company.

The US Defense Department is considering paying for SpaceX's Starlink services in Ukraine, a Pentagon spokesperson told Sputnik on Monday.

US to Sanction Any Country That Provides Military Assistance to Russia

“The United States will impose sanctions on anyone who is helping Iran provide this sort of military support for Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Donfried said during a briefing. “We will continue to vigorously enforce US sanctions on both, the Russian and Iranian arms trade. We'll make it harder for Iran to sell these weapons to Russia and we will stand with our partners throughout the region against this Iranian threat."

On Monday, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau announced the European Union's plans to investigate the possible use of Iranian combat drones by Russia in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the topic of Russia's purchase of Iranian drones had been artificially hyped by US media. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian government had no information about supplies of Iranian drones and that such questions should be directed to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani denied media reports about the deliveries of Iranian weapons to Russia for alleged use in Ukraine.