Senators Demand Pentagon Probe into Starlink Disruptions in Ukraine

A bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators has called for the Department of Defense inspector general to investigate the recent disruptions to Starlink satellite service in Ukraine. The lawmakers expressed concern that the outages, which rendered key satellite technology supporting Ukraine's military partially non-functional, had "potentially deadly consequences."

The group, comprising four Republicans and senior Democrats on national security committees, stated that it remains unclear why the satellite infrastructure, provided by Elon Musk's SpaceX and contracted for use by the Defense Department, experienced partial functionality issues this week.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine reported that speed limitations imposed on Starshield and Starlink networks endangered Ukrainian forces by hindering their military's offensive and defensive capabilities in Russian-controlled territory. While Zelenskyy noted that the limits appeared to be easing, the reasons and instigators behind them remained ambiguous.

Former President Donald Trump, who has previously advocated for Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, denied responsibility for the Starlink disruptions, stating, "I didn't do that. No, we didn't do that at all."

Zelenskyy also stated that Ukrainian military officials were informed by their U.S. counterparts that there would be repercussions for not ceasing long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries, including a suspension of intelligence sharing with Ukraine. However, a Western official familiar with intelligence sharing confirmed that such sharing has returned to normal.

The senators, in their letter to the Pentagon's independent inspector general, requested an inquiry into "whether actions or decisions by the Department of Defense or its contractors contributed to [the] dangerous circumstances" surrounding the Starshield limitations. They noted that both Starlink, supporting civilian networks, and Starshield, supporting military networks, operate under prior service arrangements managed in part by the U.S. Space Force.

Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) and Tom Tillis (R-North Carolina), co-chairs of a congressional NATO supporters group, highlighted the risks faced by American personnel due to the disruptions. "We are particularly alarmed by incidents in which U.S. diplomatic, military, and security personnel were unable to reach designated bunkers during Russian air raids," they wrote.

Ukrainian officials reported that ballistic missile attacks earlier in the week occurred without the typical advance warning provided by international partners. The senators have asked the Pentagon's inspector general to launch a formal probe into whether these disruptions were a result of a shift in U.S. policy.