Pentagon declines to investigate Starlink and Starshield disruptions in Ukraine despite bipartisan Senate request

In brief

• The Pentagon's inspector general will not open an independent investigation into Starlink and Starshield disruptions in Ukraine.
• Nine senators from both parties had asked who ordered the restrictions and whether they hurt intelligence sharing and threat warnings.
• The inspector general referred the questions to the U.S. Air Force, though the decision could be revisited if new information appears.

Inspector general passes the question to the Air Force

The Department of Defense inspector general does not plan to launch an independent investigation into the disruptions that hit Starlink and Starshield connectivity in Ukraine (Пентагон відмовився розслідувати збої Starlink в Україні: сенатори роздратовані – TSN). In a reply dated October 27, the office said the matter falls under the authority of the U.S. Air Force (В Пентагоне отказались расследовать ограничения Starlink и Starshield в Украине – NV).

What the senators asked

Five Democrats and four Republicans wrote to the inspector general asking who decided to restrict the satellite links, and whether American officials were involved in that decision. The lawmakers also wanted to know whether the outages affected the transfer of intelligence data and the timely delivery of threat warnings.

Impact on air defense

Ukrainian officials said the throttled connections made it harder to intercept Russian strike drones (Геніспектор Пентагону відмовився розслідувати обмеження Starlink для України – АР – Українська правда). The restrictions were reported to have reduced the speed of Ukraine's connection to the service run by SpaceX, whose founder Elon Musk controls the system.

Response from the inspector general's office

A spokesperson, Molly Halperin, said the senators' letter had been carefully reviewed, but she did not rule out revisiting the decision if new information emerged.

Criticism from Congress

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen criticized the refusal to conduct an independent review. She said it was troubling that the inspector general appeared unwilling to examine outages on which Ukraine relies to protect civilians. Shaheen also said the Trump administration and SpaceX had given conflicting explanations for the restrictions, and argued that an independent check was needed to establish accountability.

Context

An aide to a member of Congress, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the decision as a refusal to scrutinize Musk and SpaceX, a reading that adds to lawmakers' concern about the influence a private company holds over defense communications.