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A letter sent on October 15 to the Defense Department’s inspector general by Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Thom Tillis and seven other bipartisan colleagues called for an immediate investigation into disruptions to Starshield services in Ukraine, according to a release from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The senators expressed grave concern that the restrictions between October 12 and 14 undermined Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russian missiles and drones while potentially endangering American diplomatic and military staff during air raids. Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, joined Republican Tillis of North Carolina in leading the effort that also included Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, John Cornyn, Jack Reed, Richard Durbin, Chris Coons and Richard Blumenthal.
The disruptions involved speed limits on Starlink terminals used for military purposes, with Ukrainian tests revealing restrictions above approximately 63 miles per hour and SpaceX acknowledging a cap at 100 miles per hour, a Senate release stated. These limitations affected unmanned aerial vehicles, fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft critical for defense operations, the senators noted in their correspondence. The letter further questioned whether Department of Defense officials or contractors had directed, approved or possessed prior knowledge of the changes to intelligence-sharing and early-warning systems.
Ukrainian officials were surprised by the throttling of the service, which a US official briefed on the matter described as causing deep frustration in Kyiv, according to The New York Times. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labeled the restrictions a mistake that would lead to human losses, European Pravda reported. As of October 15, operations of the Starshield military package had been restored, sources in Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense told RBC-Ukraine.
A Reuters investigation published October 15 revealed that the order to limit the Starshield system originated from inside the White House, citing US and Western officials familiar with the matter. The restrictions complicated Ukrainian strike missions and the use of interceptor drones against Russian Shahed drones, the news agency detailed. Elon Musk confirmed in a post that any limits on Starshield are decided by the US government and ultimately the president, Reuters added.
Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink, has played a pivotal role in Ukraine’s communications since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, with the Pentagon serving as its largest customer according to industry assessments. The senators requested the inspector general to assess if the satellite and intelligence disruptions were linked and whether they stemmed from deliberate policy decisions, technical issues or contractor actions. They asked for written confirmation of the investigation’s status no later than November 1.
In their letter, the senators highlighted specific incidents where US personnel were unable to reach bunkers during Russian air raids due to the reported 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, amid reported disruptions to intelligence-sharing and early-warning capabilities,” the senators wrote. Tillis separately stated that at best the episode represented an unacceptable error or lapse and at worst a conscious decision to clear the field for a Russian attack.
