Ukraine is caught between the White House and Congress after the military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink system saw a temporary dip in data speeds for the critical communications platform.
Four Republican senators have joined Democratic colleagues in pressuring the Trump administration to ensure that Ukraine has access to Starshield, the military platform portion of SpaceX’s satellite network.
The GOP senators, Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, said in a letter published Thursday that Ukraine “needs access to unlimited speeds, which was its service arrangement prior to this reported restriction.”
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Ms. Collins and Mr. Cornyn are senior members of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
In their letter sent to Platte Moring, the Pentagon’s inspector general, the senators demanded that he investigate whether the department’s “actions or decisions” were responsible.
The group claimed that “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,” causing what they described as “dangerous circumstances.”
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The Republicans joined five Democrats in signing the letter, including the ranking members of the Senate’s Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees: Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
“We understand that at least some relevant services are provided through contractual arrangements administered by the U.S. Space Force,” they wrote. “Any restrictions on these capabilities, particularly without advance notification, raise serious questions about the Department of Defense’s contractual oversight and its responsibility to ensure continuity of essential services.”
Starlink is SpaceX’s commercial broadband internet service to consumers and businesses. Starshield is SpaceX’s government business focused on secure communication and national security.
A U.S. military official familiar with the technical details of Starshield told Threat Status that the speeds allowed by the network for military use push the limitations of the equipment and that limits on data are controlled by higher U.S. military headquarters.
Those headquarters manage the technical challenges of providing enough bandwidth with the satellites available to ensure troops have the communications support they need, the official said, asking to remain anonymous due to the work’s sensitive nature.
On Wednesday, Mykhailo Fedorov, the former minister of defense for Ukraine, had a public exchange with Mr. Musk on X. Mr. Fedorov claimed that higher Starlink connectivity speeds had been restored but that “removing Starshield’s speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine’s defense.”
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government,” Mr. Musk wrote in response. “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS.”
Ukrainian drone operators lost some of their connection speed after restrictions were imposed on battlefield use of the country’s U.S.-made Starshield communication terminals, officials said Wednesday as the capital endured a second straight night of missile attacks.
Ukrainian officials fear U.S. support for the war effort is falling away after President Trump struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel despite international efforts to strengthen sanctions on Russia for its invasion. Russia has pushed a record growth in defense spending because of the war in Ukraine while relying on energy exports to fund its economy.
The decision to restrict Ukraine’s use of Starshield comes after the diesel deal on Oct. 9.
Mr. Tillis, a consistent backer of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, blamed the Defense Department rather than the White House.
“The latest reporting suggests this strategic snafu may have occurred more locally within DOD Starshield systems, not with Starlink or SpaceX,” Mr. Tillis wrote on X. “I’m not holding my breath for Defense Secretary [Pete] Hegseth to offer transparency.”
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