WASHINGTON — Ukraine has yet to receive answers from the Pentagon or Elon Musk’s SpaceX over restrictions on satellite communications used by its military, Kyiv’s top diplomat in Washington told RFE/RL, as a growing bipartisan push for a congressional investigation intensified.
“Speed restrictions have not been lifted,” Denys Sienik, Ukraine’s charge d’affaires in the United States, told RFE/RL on October 21, adding Kyiv had received no response from either the Pentagon or SpaceX.
The dispute over Starlink and its military-oriented counterpart, Starshield, has raised questions about who authorized the restrictions, whether the Trump administration knew about them in advance, and how the changes affected Ukraine’s ability to defend against Russian attacks.
On October 21, Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that President Donald Trump or anyone in the US government had requested changes to the systems. But a congressional delegation that recently visited Kyiv said the restrictions had impaired Ukrainian air defenses and put American personnel at risk.
Disruptions to the Starshield satellite system, the military-grade version of the Starlink service operated by SpaceX on which Kyiv heavily relies to defend against Russian air strikes, has left Ukraine particularly vulnerable since they were first reported on October 13-14.
Russia launched fresh overnight attacks on Kyiv on October 21, injuring at least 15 people, including two children. Missiles reportedly struck homes, an ambulance station, and a petrol station as diplomatic efforts to restart peace talks continued.
“Overnight, Kyiv residents heard what Russian ‘humanism’ truly sounds like,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on X. “Appeasement, servility, and flattery will not stop this war. Only strength will,” he added.
Air Defenses Impaired
Dan Rice, a former special adviser to the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces and current president of American University Kyiv, told RFE/RL that several separate issues had become entangled in the controversy: intelligence-sharing, satellite speed restrictions, and deliveries of Patriot air-defense interceptors.
Rice said he believed Rubio was referring to intelligence-sharing when he insisted the United States had not interrupted assistance to Ukraine.
“The intel was shared,” Rice said, adding that a technical glitch had prevented air-raid alerts from reaching people’s phones. “If Secretary Rubio says there was no interruption of intel — I believe him.”
The distinction matters because continued intelligence-sharing does not necessarily mean satellite connectivity was unaffected.
During an October 21 briefing, a Senate Democratic aide who had recently returned from Kyiv said the delegation witnessed Russian drones and missiles approaching the capital with unusually limited advance warning.
The aide said the Starshield restrictions were in effect during the October 13-16 visit and that the delegation’s assessment was they had endangered both Ukrainian civilians and US personnel.
Russian jet-powered Shahed drones, which can travel at 280 miles per hour or faster, have posed a particular challenge. Starshield speed limits were reportedly initially set at about 60 miles per hour and later at 100 miles per hour, meaning the system could lose connectivity with faster-moving objects.
Rubio Denies US Role
Speaking in Mumbai on October 21, Rubio stressed that Starlink and Starshield are separate systems.
Starlink is a commercial satellite-Internet service that can also be used to guide drones, he said, while Starshield is a specialized defense product sold and operated through the US Defense Department.
Rubio said he had not read The Wall Street Journal report alleging that Musk ordered the slowdown. He denied Trump or other US officials had requested changes or had advance knowledge of the decision.
Neither “the president of the United States nor anyone in our system ever requested that any changes to that system be made,” Rubio said.
He argued that the government could not dictate how a private company manages a commercial product, while acknowledging that Starshield operates under different arrangements because it is procured for government use.
Congress Demands Answers
Democrats and some Republicans have called for investigations into the slowdown.
Senator Adam Schiff of California said in a social media post the conflicting accounts warranted a full Senate investigation and called for Musk to testify under oath. Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona also urged Musk to explain the decision voluntarily.
Senator Chris Coons of Delaware said Musk should not have the power to influence the outcome of a war “with the flip of a switch,” while Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts warned of the risks of a private executive effectively dictating US foreign policy.
Representative Ami Bera, a California Democrat, said the slowdown had “crippled Ukrainian defenses and endangered innocent lives,” calling on Congress to establish who authorized it and hold those responsible accountable. Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania has also called for an investigation.
Separately, a bipartisan group of nearly two dozen House members has urged Trump to press Musk to allow Ukraine to use Starlink to target Russian missile-launch sites inside Russia.
“If Ukraine cannot reliably intercept Russian ‘arrows,’ it must be able to shoot the ‘archer,'” the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent on October 21, arguing that Ukraine needs the ability to destroy the launchers used to attack its cities.
The initiative was led by Republican Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina and included seven Republicans and 16 Democrats. The lawmakers said granting Ukraine greater access could save lives and give Russian President Vladimir Putin greater incentives to negotiate.
The Senate delegation also raised concerns about other delays in US assistance, including Patriot interceptors reportedly paid for by NATO allies but not yet transferred to Ukraine. The aide said the committee had approved several third-party transfers but had not seen the interceptors reach Ukrainian inventories.
