Pentagon inspector general declines to investigate Starlink disruptions in Ukraine
The watchdog told lawmakers it was a contractual matter.
The Pentagon's inspector general has declined to investigate disruptions of Starlink and Starshield in Ukraine, writing in a letter to lawmakers who had requested a probe that his office is not best suited to deliver answers.
Platte Moring, who leads the independent watchdog office at the Pentagon, told lawmakers that reported disruptions to Starlink and Starshield in recent weeks was a contractual matter that would be best addressed to the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, according to a document seen by ABC News.
Both of those military services have jurisdiction over the U.S. military's contract with SpaceX for Starlink.
The disruptions drew widespread criticism as Ukraine came under fire from Russian attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the imposition of limits on the satellite networks was a U.S. government decision. U.S. and Ukrainian officials have since said the services have been restored to normal conditions.
"The Office of Inspector General carefully considered the congressional request and determined that the matters raised were best addressed by the Department. Should new information come to light, we may reconsider," said Mollie Halpern, the spokesperson for the DOD Inspector General, in a statement provided to ABC News.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat who was a part of a bipartisan group of nine senators requesting the inquiry, said the inspector general's decision not to proceed was "concerning."
"The Trump Administration and SpaceX have provided conflicting accounts of what led to those disruptions, which weakened Ukraine's defenses and put American personnel in Ukraine at risk unnecessarily," Shaheen said in a statement to ABC News.
"There must be an independent accounting and review to determine responsibility and prevent this from happening in the future. I urge the Inspector General to conduct a full investigation," she added.
Initially the Pentagon's inspector general had informed the senators that it recommended that their questions about service interruptions should be directed toward the Defense Department's under secretary for policy.
In turn, that office informed the inspector general that the reported disruptions were a contractual matter better addressed by the two military services.
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