US Senator Blumenthal opens probe into Ukraine Starshield restrictions

U.S. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said on Oct. 22 he had launched an inquiry into sudden restrictions of Starshield satellite services in Ukraine that hampered the country's ability to intercept Russian drones.

Starshield is the militarized version of the Starlink system, operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX company and widely used by the Ukrainian military.

Kyiv said that overnight on Oct. 14, SpaceX implemented restrictions on Starshield operations in Ukraine, capping its speed limit at 161 kilometers per hour (kph) and curbing Ukrainian interceptors' ability to down Russian jet-powered drones.

"This decision to limit critical technology for a key ally... (puts) Ukrainian forces at risk and their people in peril," Blumenthal wrote in a letter addressed to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The move also "raises serious questions about who controls critical capabilities the U.S. government has spent billions of dollars to procure," the senator continued.

Neither Musk nor the Trump administration publicly claimed responsibility for the slowdown, but the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Oct. 21 that the order came from the SpaceX founder.

The outlet separately wrote a day later that Trump called Musk to lift the restrictions. However, a Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent that the 161 kph limit is still in place.

Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations, asked the Pentagon to clarify who ordered the restrictions and to provide information on the U.S. military's own reliance on Starlink.

The pro-Ukraine lawmaker also stressed that the reports "raise further questions about the respective roles of (the Pentagon), the White House, and SpaceX in controlling and modifying the service."

"If the Pentagon cannot say plainly who has the authority to degrade a military communications network, our partners cannot rely on it, and our adversaries will look for ways to exploit that uncertainty."

Blumenthal asked Hegseth to provide information by Nov. 5. As the Democrats lack a majority in the Senate, they do not hold the subpoena power.

The Democratic Party aims to wrest control of both chambers of Congress from the Republicans during the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 3.