A senior Russian lawmaker on Thursday criticized Russians who invest in Western companies and suggested that Elon Musk's SpaceX should be designated a terrorist organization because its Starlink satellite network is used by Ukraine's military.
Alexei Zhuravlev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma's Defense Committee, made the remarks as SpaceX prepared for what is expected to be the largest initial public offering in history, with shares set to begin trading on Friday.
"I am not sure that people who play on the stock market have such a strong sense of patriotism that they would give up easy profits for the sake of their country," Zhuravlev said. He added that Russians continue to invest abroad by opening foreign accounts and "pretending not to be Russians."
Russia's political establishment often frames Western companies supporting Ukraine as participants in the conflict, even as some Russians seek exposure to high-profile foreign investments despite sanctions and restrictions on cross-border financial transactions.
Zhuravlev proposed classifying Western defense and technology companies whose products are used by Ukrainian forces as terrorist organizations.
