Pentagon Watchdog Refuses Starlink Investigation as Questions Grow Over Musk’s Control of Ukraine’s Military Communications – EU Today

Pentagon Watchdog Refuses Starlink Investigation as Questions Grow Over Musk’s Control of Ukraine’s Military Communications  EU Today

The Pentagon’s inspector general has declined a bipartisan Senate request to investigate Starlink and Starshield restrictions affecting Ukraine, leaving questions over who authorised the disruption. The decision, disclosed by the Associated Press on 28 October, follows complaints from Ukrainian officials that restrictions introduced earlier this month disrupted military drone operations, including attempts to intercept high-speed Russian attack drones. Nine US senators, comprising five Democrats and four Republicans, had requested an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the interruption. Instead, Pentagon Inspector General Platte Moring III informed lawmakers in a letter dated 27 October that the questions would be better addressed by the US Air Force and Space Force. The response has intensified a dispute extending beyond Ukraine’s battlefield communications to the relationship between the American government, its defence contractors and the private companies supplying critical military technology.

The investigation was requested by senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, alongside seven colleagues from both parties. Their 15 October letter sought to establish whether Pentagon officials or other US government representatives had authorised, approved or received advance notice of changes affecting Ukraine’s satellite communications. The senators also raised concerns about reported disruptions to intelligence-sharing and early-warning arrangements, including allegations that American personnel in Ukraine experienced difficulties reaching shelters during Russian air raids. They wanted investigators to determine whether these incidents were connected,