A bipartisan group of senators hoping for answers about a recent disruption to Ukraine’s battlefield communications hit a wall at the Pentagon.
The Defense Department’s inspector general has turned down the lawmakers’ request to investigate the throttling of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, The Associated Press reported Wednesday. In a response dated Tuesday, the watchdog told the nine senators that the Air Force was better positioned to address their concerns.
The senators, four Republicans and five Democrats, sought the probe after Ukrainian officials said this month that connection speeds on Starlink and Starshield, its military-grade counterpart, had been slowed. Officials in Kyiv said the restrictions hampered their ability to intercept incoming Russian drones.
A congressional aide who spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity characterized the decision as the watchdog declining to look into Musk and Starlink, even though the office is well equipped to do so. According to the aide, worries in Congress about Musk’s grip on Starlink stretch back years and helped drive the creation of Starshield in the first place.
“It is concerning that the Inspector General has apparently decided not to investigate satellite communication disruptions that Ukraine relies on to protect its civilians,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and one of the lawmakers requesting an investigation, said in a statement to the AP.
Shaheen added that “the Trump administration and SpaceX have provided conflicting accounts of what led to those disruptions” and called for “an independent accounting and review to determine responsibility and prevent this from happening in the future.”
Those accounts have indeed diverged. Musk admitted over the weekend that SpaceX had throttled Starlink in Ukraine, claiming the country broke the service’s terms, a charge Ukrainian officials rejected. He insisted, however, that any changes to Starshield were in the hands of the U.S. government. President Donald Trump has denied ordering any restriction, while Vice President JD Vance has hinted at coordination between the White House and Musk.
Mollie Halpern, a spokeswoman for the inspector general’s office, said the watchdog “carefully considered the congressional request and determined that the matters raised were best addressed by the Department.”
The Pentagon pointed questions to the inspector general’s office, and the Air Force did not immediately answer the AP’s request for comment. Both have previously sidestepped questions about the slowdown.
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