Pentagon Watchdog Won’t Probe Musk’s Ukraine Satellite Slowdowns
WHO:
ABC News - Pentagon Inspector General Platte Moring declined to investigate reported disruptions to Starlink and Starshield in Ukraine.
ABC News - Mollie Halpern, spokesperson for the Department of Defense Inspector General, said the office considered the congressional request and might reconsider if new information emerged.
ABC News - A bipartisan group of nine senators requested an investigation; Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said the decision not to proceed was “concerning.”
CNN - The senators were led by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
CNN - Trump said he was not responsible for the slowdowns. Elon Musk, SpaceX’s billionaire head and a Trump ally, appeared to confirm SpaceX had throttled Starlink speeds while saying Starshield was a separate system.
CNN - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said limits on the satellite networks were a U.S. government decision. Zelenskyy adviser Serhiy Sternenko disputed Musk’s claims about Ukraine’s use of Starlink.
WHAT:
ABC News - The Pentagon inspector general declined to investigate the Starlink and Starshield disruptions, referring the matter to the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.
ABC News - The two military services have jurisdiction over the U.S. military’s SpaceX contract for Starlink.
CNN - The senators had requested “an immediate investigation” into disruptions to Starshield and commercial Starlink, saying the restrictions hampered Ukraine’s defenses.
CNN - Shaheen said conflicting accounts from the Trump administration and SpaceX weakened Ukraine’s defenses and unnecessarily put American personnel in Ukraine at risk. She called for “an independent accounting and review” and urged a full investigation.
CNN - Musk said Ukraine’s military violated Starlink’s terms of service by using it “for offensive drone strikes to kill people,” and said, “That loophole was closed last week.” He said Starshield “is controlled by the US government.”
CNN - Sternenko said Ukraine was “physically unable to use commercial Starlink” for medium- and long-range strikes into Russia because of speed restrictions and the service’s unavailability over Russian territory. He said Musk’s claim was “not true.”
Ars Technica - The Pentagon inspector general rejected a request by Democratic and Republican senators to investigate the slowdown.
WHERE:
ABC News - The reported satellite-service disruptions affected Ukraine, which was under Russian attack.
CNN - Starlink and Starshield slowdowns affected Ukraine; the commercial service was unavailable over Russian territory.
WHY:
ABC News - The inspector general’s office said the issues were contractual matters better addressed by the Department of Defense and the Air Force and Space Force.
HOW:
ABC News - The inspector general initially directed lawmakers’ questions to the Defense Department’s under secretary for policy; that office then characterized the disruptions as a contractual matter for the military services.
CNN - Moring’s letter directed the senators to the Air Force and Space Force, saying they were better suited to address the issues and coordinate Department responses.
(UPDATED October 29, 2026 21:06 UTC)
The Pentagon inspector general declined a bipartisan request to investigate reported Starlink and Starshield disruptions affecting Ukraine, referring the matter to the Air Force and Space Force as a contractual issue. Nine senators, led by Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, said the restrictions hampered Ukraine’s defenses, and Shaheen called the decision concerning and urged an independent review. Trump denied responsibility for the slowdowns, while Elon Musk said Ukraine’s military had used Starlink for offensive drone strikes and that Starshield is controlled by the U.S. government; Ukrainian officials disputed Musk’s account.