US senators demand probe into Starshield throttling that hit Ukraine's drones

Senators demand a Pentagon inquiry

Nine members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, four of them Republicans, signed a letter to the Pentagon's inspector general, Platte Moring, asking for an investigation into the throttling of the Starshield satellite system in Ukraine. The committee said the letter asks whether US officials agreed to the disruption or were informed of it beforehand. The senators argue that the restriction also endangers Americans abroad, including diplomats, military personnel and security staff, and they want to know whether US personnel could reach shelters during Russian attacks.

The United States government has a basic duty to protect American personnel abroad.

How the speed limit hit Ukrainian drones

Ukrainian media reported that a speed limit for Starlink terminals was introduced overnight without warning and remained in place for a little more than a day. Drones lost their link when they exceeded 160 kilometres per hour, while long-range Ukrainian drones can fly up to 300 kilometres per hour, so those pushing past the limit flew blind and could no longer be steered remotely. Ukrainian officials said the military receivers stopped working on fast-flying drones, which hampered attacks on Russian troops in occupied areas and the downing of Russian Shahed drones. A person in the Ukrainian defence ministry later said the receivers worked again in flight, but only up to 160 kilometres per hour.

Who gave the order

Reuters, citing insiders, reported that the instruction came from the White House and that the leadership of the Defence Department had been told the Starshield service SpaceX provides to the Ukrainian military had to be slowed. Two US government officials and one other Western government official declined to say who in the White House made the decision or who carried it out. The White House told reporters that Trump had not issued the instruction. Elon Musk wrote on X that because Starshield systems belong to the US government and are controlled by it, the US military or the president decides on restrictions on speed or use. SpaceX, the Pentagon and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington had not commented on the report.

Political fallout

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, told the BBC that Trump was using Ukraine as a scapegoat for high energy prices about two weeks before the midterm elections. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski accused Musk of meddling in politics with his products. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told ZDF's Mybrit Illner that Germany demands clarification, because part of the technology is co-financed by Germany and Berlin wants it to function as paid for.

and that is why we of course insist that it works when we pay for it.

Wider US and European tensions

Trump has pressed Kyiv to stop attacks on Russian refineries and blames them for high fuel prices, while the US has approved imports of Russian diesel, according to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Relations between Trump and Zelensky have deteriorated sharply, and Trump reportedly demanded that Zelensky be replaced, claiming the Ukrainian president is blocking a peace deal. Welt reports that experts attribute most of the rise in energy costs to the US-Israeli war with Iran, which triggered Iranian attacks on energy facilities and largely paralysed the Strait of Hormuz. In the week of 5 October, Secretary of State Marco Rubio held out the prospect of sweeping sanctions against the International Criminal Court, which would take effect in six months. At the EU summit in Brussels, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten called the diesel deal 'ridiculous', arguing it fills Putin's war chest rather than lowering world market prices.