Two senior Republican lawmakers have called for a congressional investigation into the disruption of Starlink and Starshield services used by Ukraine. Asked on CBS’s Face the Nation whether he accepted the administration’s explanation that the slowdown happened without an explicit government order, Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio replied: “Absolutely not.” Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, speaking on the same Sunday programme, said nobody has so far taken credit or blame for it. The remarks were reported on 19 October by Lokmat Times, which discloses that the item was auto-published from the IANS agency feed without modification and was not reviewed by an editor.
Starshield sits at the centre of the dispute. It is a separate SpaceX programme built for government and national security customers, distinct from the consumer Starlink broadband service sold to households and businesses, and Ukraine’s wartime connectivity draws on both.
Key facts
- Turner sits on the House Armed Services Committee and formerly chaired the House Intelligence Committee; Cramer recently visited Ukraine and met President Volodymyr Zelensky, Lokmat Times reports.
- Cramer said the interruption may have been a technical glitch and that he did not know whose decision it was.
- Neither report gives figures for the speeds involved, the number of terminals affected or the exact duration of the interruption.
Why it matters
Turner told CBS that disruptions touching military assistance, intelligence and communications demand far more accountability than they have received, because lives are at risk and lives are lost over such failures, Lokmat Times reports. He said the capabilities involved are being used by Ukrainian forces defending their own territory, and described them as essential to US support for Ukraine against Russian attacks.
The safety concern is not limited to Ukrainian units. Anadolu Ajansı reports that nine US senators told the Pentagon’s inspector general they were alarmed by incidents in which US diplomatic, military and security personnel were unable to reach designated bunkers during Russian air raids, amid reported disruptions to intelligence-sharing and early-warning capabilities.
Two tracks: Congress and the Pentagon watchdog
The congressional track
Cramer said Congress itself could and should investigate, and that an inspector general inquiry was another possibility, according to Lokmat Times. He pointed to efforts by Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis to seek an investigation into the circumstances of the interruption.
The inspector general track
That second track is already running. Writing on Thursday 15 October, the bipartisan group of nine senators called on Defense Department Inspector General Platte Moring III to open an immediate investigation into the reported Starshield service disruptions in Ukraine earlier that week, Anadolu Ajansı reports (see our earlier coverage of the senators’ letter to the Pentagon).
The senators also questioned the reported restrictions on satellite services used by Ukraine. They wrote that to use Starshield and Starlink as intended, “Ukraine needs access to unlimited speeds, which was its service arrangement prior to this reported restriction.”
Nobody is claiming the decision
The central dispute is who, if anyone, ordered the slowdown. In remarks played during the CBS programme, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States had nothing to do with it, that nobody ordered Starlink speeds to be slowed down, and that it “sort of happened,” according to Lokmat Times — one in a series of denials from Musk, Trump and Rubio that any cap was ordered.
Turner was unwilling to accept that account, saying investigators need to find out who the people behind the decision are. Cramer framed the question more openly, telling CBS that investigators needed to determine whether the interruption resulted from a deliberate decision or a technical problem.
Is the service back?
Here the sources do not line up. Rubio said his understanding was that service had been restored, Lokmat Times reports. Zelensky said satellite services had not been fully restored and suggested the restrictions followed instructions from the American government, consistent with his earlier statement that speeds were still not fully restored.
Turner offered a third, partial picture: he said reports from Ukraine suggested satellite access remained inconsistent, with services restored in some areas but not others, according to Lokmat Times.
What happens next
Cramer said the immediate priority was restoring satellite services, alongside expanding Ukraine’s ability to target Russian military launch facilities, Lokmat Times reports. Neither source names a date for a congressional hearing, and neither reports a response from the inspector general’s office to the senators’ letter.
For consumer satellite internet customers, the scrutiny is confined to Starshield and the military-related service arrangements attached to Starlink in Ukraine. Neither source reports any change to Starlink’s commercial plans, pricing, hardware costs or availability in any other market, and neither describes residential or roam terminals outside Ukraine as affected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which senators signed the letter to the Pentagon inspector general?
According to Anadolu Ajansı, the letter was led by Senator Jeanne Shaheen and co-signed by Senators Thom Tillis, Dick Durbin, Susan Collins, Jack Reed, John Cornyn, Chris Coons, Lisa Murkowski and Richard Blumenthal. That makes nine signatories from both parties, addressed to Defense Department Inspector General Platte Moring III.
What exactly did the senators ask the inspector general to establish?
Anadolu Ajansı reports they asked whether US officials approved or had advance knowledge of the reported disruptions, and whether decisions by the Defense Department or its contractors contributed to them. The senators also asked the watchdog to determine whether the disruptions were preventable, whether the Pentagon had coordinated adequately with contractors, and whether corrective measures were being put in place.
Did anyone else in the US administration respond to Zelensky’s claim?
Yes. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, rejected the suggestion that the administration ordered the restrictions, according to Lokmat Times. Bessent said President Trump and Secretary Rubio had categorically stated that no one in the Trump administration did that.
How long has Starlink been used in Ukraine?
Lokmat Times reports that Starlink, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has provided satellite internet connectivity to Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022. The network has supported communications in areas where conventional infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
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