US senator calls for Pentagon probe over Starlink restrictions for Ukraine, connection now restored
Photo: Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense (Getty Images)
US authorities should investigate the activities of the US Department of Defense after Ukraine faced restrictions on Starlink operations amid continued Russian attacks, Republican Senator Thom Tillis said on X.
As of October 15, the Starlink military package, Starshield, has resumed operations, according to RBC-Ukraine sources at the Ministry of Defense.
The US politician said he would personally initiate an investigation into Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and his entire team.
Tillis leans toward the view that the error likely occurred at a more localized level within the US Department of Defense's Starshield systems, rather than within Starlink or SpaceX systems.
"I’m not holding my breath for Defense Secretary Hegseth to offer transparency, so we’ll be asking the DOD Inspector General to initiate an investigation and report back to Congress and the American People," the Republican senator emphasized.
Tillis made no secret of his outrage that recent events had harmed the security of not only Ukrainian civilians but also American diplomatic and security personnel.
"At best, this was an unacceptable error or lapse, and at worst a conscience decision to clear the field for a Russian attack," the senator stressed.
Starlink restrictions in Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially confirmed that over the past few days, Ukraine's Defense Forces had encountered a problem with restrictions on Starlink operations.
According to him, this happened after he asked the US for Patriot missiles to protect the population from Russian strikes.
The White House assured Kyiv that it was not involved in the Starlink restrictions. It emphasized that it does not control SpaceX.
SpaceX owner Elon Musk said that he had made no decisions regarding Ukraine and hinted that the restrictions were the work of the US authorities or the Pentagon.
As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted, amid these restrictions, Russia launched one of its largest-scale attacks on Ukraine. Starting last night, the enemy launched hundreds of attack drones.
