WASHINGTON (Oct. 20, 2026) — Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said Tuesday that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are “undermining Ukraine while shielding Russia’s oil revenues.” He also called the U.S. war in Iran “illegal” and said the combination was “straight off Putin’s wishlist.”
What He Said
His full post, published at 5:39 p.m. on Oct. 20, 2026, read:
“Elon Musk reportedly throttled Starlink service vital to Ukraine’s defenses, crippling drones used to intercept Russian attacks.
Trump and Musk are undermining Ukraine while shielding Russia’s oil revenues, even as Trump’s own illegal war in Iran drives up fuel prices. This is straight off Putin’s wishlist.”
The Report He Cited
Krishnamoorthi linked an Oct. 20 Wall Street Journal report. It said Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade Starlink version relied on by Ukraine, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter. The slowdown began Oct. 14 and capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected, rendering some offensive and interceptor drones virtually useless.
Musk wrote on X that limits were “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” Trump told reporters Monday he did not know who was responsible. Some U.S. officials said Musk acted unilaterally, the report said.
“Shielding Russia’s Oil Revenues”
On Oct. 16, Trump signed an executive order stating: “I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions and duties provided for in the Graham Act.” The order waives the act’s tariff provisions and a series of sanctions provisions. It states the waivers last until the president or the Secretary of State determines further action is appropriate.
The order followed Trump’s announced deal with Putin to import Russian diesel. The Treasury Department temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports and gave Russian energy producers a general license to sell diesel until April.
“Illegal War in Iran”
The Journal report said most analysts believe the Iran war has had a larger effect on energy prices than Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries. Trump blames the refinery strikes for high prices. “Illegal” is Krishnamoorthi’s characterization.
On Feb. 28, 2026, Krishnamoorthi said Trump was “risking the lives of Americans in an unauthorized war with no end in sight.” On March 5, he voted for the bipartisan War Powers Resolution introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie.
On May 5, he wrote to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that Trump had “falsely informed Congress” that the war had been “terminated.” On July 18, after two U.S. service members were killed, he called it “this illegal war of choice” that was driving up prices at home.
His Record on Russia and Ukraine
In a Feb. 24, 2022 statement on Russia’s invasion, Krishnamoorthi called for democracies to “dramatically expand sanctions on Russia.” In 2017, he praised a House bill that would “prevent the President from unilaterally rolling back sanctions on Russia.”
On April 25, 2025, Krishnamoorthi helped lead a joint statement by national security lawmakers on a Trump ultimatum to Ukraine. It said the plan would “give Putin exactly what he wants.”
In September, he voted for the Graham Act, the only Indian-American lawmaker to do so and one of 58 Democrats who broke with leadership. He met with a Ukrainian advocacy group before the vote and wrote on X that the United States “must stand with them.” He is retiring from the House in January.
His Record on Musk
In February 2025, Krishnamoorthi joined Oversight Committee Democrats in asking watchdogs to investigate potential national security threats tied to Musk’s DOGE team’s access to government networks. That month he also questioned Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds about DOGE’s access to Treasury payments.
In June 2025, he said a Supreme Court ruling handed Musk’s DOGE team “a skeleton key to the personal data of more than 70 million Americans.”