US Senators demand investigation into Starlink restrictions for Ukraine; Pentagon refuses – AP
The Inspector General of the Pentagon will not conduct an investigation into the disruptions affecting the Starlink and Starshield satellite systems in Ukraine. Instead, the oversight body stated that the U.S. Air Force should address the issues raised.
According to Censor.NET, the Associated Press reports this, citing sources, senators, and a response from the Pentagon.
A bipartisan group of nine U.S. senators—four Republicans and five Democrats—has asked the Pentagon’s inspector general to investigate recent service disruptions affecting Starlink and the military version of the satellite system, Starshield.
The request came after Ukrainian officials reported that connection speeds to these services had been restricted. According to the AP, communication disruptions prevented the Ukrainian side from intercepting Russian jet-powered strike drones.
Starlink and Starshield are crucial for maintaining communications in Ukraine during the war.
The Pentagon explained the decision
In its response to the senators, the Office of the Inspector General stated that the issues raised would be best addressed by the U.S. Air Force.
Molly Halpern, a spokeswoman for the regulatory agency, stated that the request from Congress had been carefully reviewed.
"If new information comes to light, we may reconsider our decision," she added.
According to an aide to one of the congressmen, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, this decision effectively means abandoning the investigation into the actions of Elon Musk and his company, SpaceX.
Senators are insisting on an investigation
Democratic Senator Jean Shaheen, who represents the Democratic Party on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, expressed concern over the lack of an independent investigation into the disruptions in satellite communications, which Ukraine relies on to protect its civilian population.
According to her, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and SpaceX have provided conflicting explanations for the cause of the disruptions.
Shahin emphasized the need for an independent investigation to help determine responsibility and prevent similar situations from recurring.
The AP notes that the situation has once again raised questions about Elon Musk’s influence over a critically important communications system. Concerns in Congress about control over Starlink have existed for several years. In particular, they were one of the reasons behind the creation of Starshield—a military version of the satellite system.
The Pentagon referred the journalists’ inquiry to the Inspector General’s office, and the U.S. Air Force had not responded as of the time of publication. Previously, both agencies had declined to comment on the restrictions on Ukraine’s access to satellite internet.
What led up to this?
- On October 14, volunteer and former advisor to the Minister of Defense Serhiy Sternenko stated that overnight, SpaceX restricted the operation of Starlink terminals for the Ukrainian military. As a result, he said, "a number of important missions were disrupted." The restrictions were imposed on data transmission based on the speed of the UAVs using Starlink.
- Sergey Beskrestnov (Flash) later confirmed this information. According to him, the restrictions could also complicate the use of drones designed to intercept jet-powered suicide drones.
- Units of the 7th Corps of the Airborne Forces also reported that they began experiencing issues with Starlink connectivity in the Huliaipole area last night. This refers to the Starshield package—the so-called military package—which previously had no data transfer speed limits.
- Later, former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated that the network is being restored to speeds of up to 160 km/h.
- At the same time, Elon Musk stated that he is not the one who sets the limits for Starshield, which Ukraine is using. This system is controlled by the U.S. government, not SpaceX.
- According to Reuters, the norder to restrict Starshield for Ukraine was issued by the White House.
- On October 16, U.S. President Trump stated that Washington was not involved in the slowdown of the "military package" of Starlink (Starshield) satellite communications for the Ukrainian military.
- On October 19, Zelenskyy reported that in various sectors of the front, Ukrainian military equipment equipped with the Starlink system stops functioning at speeds of 130–161 kilometers per hour.
- Hegset stated that the Pentagon had not issued any orders to restrict Starshield.
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Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had called Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on the military version of Starlink in Ukraine, and on Thursday, Trump said that "the main thing is that he reversed everything" and declined to comment on whether he had called Musk.
- On October 22, Trump refused to say whether he had called SpaceX CEO Elon Musk regarding the speed restrictions on the military version of Starlink in Ukraine.
- According to Politico, as of Friday morning, October 23, the Ukrainian military was still facing speed restrictions on Starlink, even though Trump had announced that the service had resumed full operation.
- On October 24,
the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced that SpaceX’s Starlink terminals and their military variants, StarShield, are once again operating at speeds exceeding 161 km/h.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also confirmed the resumption of Starlink service for Ukraine.
