Schiff Demands Hegseth Testify on Ukraine Starlink Disruptions as Trump and Musk Give Conflicting Accounts
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Oct 25
Schiff Demands Hegseth Testify on Ukraine Starlink Disruptions as Trump and Musk Give Conflicting Accounts
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Oct 25
Summary
Adam Schiff said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should testify before the Senate about Starlink limits that disrupted Ukrainian military operations, arguing lawmakers need to determine who ordered the slowdown.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine believed the restriction message came from the U.S. government and that SpaceX carried it out, while the Trump administration has denied requesting any operational changes.
Trump said Thursday that Musk restored Starlink in Ukraine, but Ukraine said Friday the system was still not working properly; by Saturday, Kyiv said Starlink and the military Starshield network were back at high speeds.
Musk said overnight that Ukraine violated Starlink terms of service by using the system for offensive strikes and that SpaceX had closed a loophole, after previously saying Starshield limits are decided by the U.S. military and president.
The dispute has sharpened tensions between Washington and Kyiv and raised broader questions about whether a private company and its owner can shape U.S. national security and Ukraine's battlefield capabilities.