Pentagon watchdog rejects probe into Ukraine satellite outages

The Pentagon’s independent oversight office has decided not to investigate recent interruptions to Starlink and Starshield services in Ukraine. Platte Moring, the Pentagon inspector general, sent a letter to lawmakers explaining the decision. He stated that his office is not the best entity to provide answers regarding the service disruptions.

According to a document reviewed by ABC News, Moring classified the reported outages as a contractual issue. He identified the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force as the services with jurisdiction over the military’s contract with SpaceX for Starlink. Both branches are responsible for managing that specific agreement.

The decision follows a request from a bipartisan group of nine senators. They asked the inspector general to look into why the satellite networks went offline during recent weeks of Russian attacks on Ukraine. The disruptions occurred while Ukrainian forces were under heavy fire, leading to widespread criticism of the timing and duration of the outages.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the limits imposed on the satellite networks were a decision by the U.S. government. Since the initial outages, U.S. and Ukrainian officials have confirmed that the services have returned to normal operating conditions. The restoration of service did not stop the push for a formal inquiry into the cause of the initial failures.

Mollie Halpern, the spokesperson for the Department of Defense Inspector General, explained the rationale in a statement provided to ABC News. She said the office carefully considered the congressional request and determined the matters were best addressed by the Department. Halpern noted that the office may reconsider its stance if new information emerges.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat on the bipartisan committee, called the decision to drop the probe concerning. She noted that the Trump Administration and SpaceX have offered conflicting accounts of what caused the disruptions. Shaheen argued that the outages weakened Ukrainian defenses and unnecessarily put American personnel in Ukraine at risk.

Shaheen urged the inspector general to conduct a full investigation to establish an independent accounting of responsibility. She emphasized the need for a review to prevent similar incidents in the future. The Pentagon’s inspector general had initially suggested the senators direct their questions to the Defense Department’s under secretary for policy. That office then referred the matter back to the two military services, citing the contractual nature of the dispute.