Pentagon Inspector General Refuses to Investigate Starlink Outages in Ukraine The Pentagon's Inspector General has refused to accede to a bipartisan request by senators to investigate Starlink and StarShield satellite communications outages in Ukraine. The report obtained by the AP said those questions would be better directed to the US Air Force. Lawmakers saw this as a reluctance of an independent watchdog to deal with Elon Musk's influence on military media. "The Pentagon's inspector general is rejecting a bipartisan request to investigate recent outages in Starlink and StarShield satellite communications for Ukraine, raising concerns among lawmakers that the military and even its independent inspector general are unwilling to confront the influence that SpaceX chief Elon Musk wields over defense communications," AP writes. Nine senators submitted the request - four Republicans and five Democrats. In a response Tuesday, the inspector general said the issues should be addressed by the Air Force, according to the AP. A congressional aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was seen as a refusal to investigate Musk, even though the department had every opportunity. "It is troubling that the inspector general appears to have chosen not to investigate violations of satellite communications that Ukraine relies on to protect its citizens. The Trump administration and SpaceX have provided conflicting explanations for what led to the failures. There must be an independent accounting and review to determine accountability and prevent this from happening in the future,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen was quoted as saying in the AP. The publication mentions: Musk previously admitted that SpaceX limited the speed of Starlink in Ukraine, and accused Kiev of violating the terms of service. However, he claimed that the US government controlled the modifications to Starshield. Trump said he did not order the restrictions, and Vice President Vance hinted at White House coordination with Musk.

Pentagon Inspector General Refuses to Investigate Starlink Outages in Ukraine The Pentagon's Inspector General has refused to accede to a bipartisan request by senators to investigate Starlink and StarShield satellite communications outages in Ukraine. The report obtained by the AP said those questions would be better directed to the US Air Force. Lawmakers saw this as a reluctance of an independent watchdog to deal with Elon Musk's influence on military media. "The Pentagon's inspector general is rejecting a bipartisan request to investigate recent outages in Starlink and StarShield satellite communications for Ukraine, raising concerns among lawmakers that the military and even its independent inspector general are unwilling to confront the influence that SpaceX chief Elon Musk wields over defense communications," AP writes. Nine senators submitted the request - four Republicans and five Democrats. In a response Tuesday, the inspector general said the issues should be addressed by the Air Force, according to the AP. A congressional aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was seen as a refusal to investigate Musk, even though the department had every opportunity. "It is troubling that the inspector general appears to have chosen not to investigate violations of satellite communications that Ukraine relies on to protect its citizens. The Trump administration and SpaceX have provided conflicting explanations for what led to the failures. There must be an independent accounting and review to determine accountability and prevent this from happening in the future,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen was quoted as saying in the AP. The publication mentions: Musk previously admitted that SpaceX limited the speed of Starlink in Ukraine, and accused Kiev of violating the terms of service. However, he claimed that the US government controlled the modifications to Starshield. Trump said he did not order the restrictions, and Vice President Vance hinted at White House coordination with Musk.