Rep. Turner calls for congressional investigation into Starlink disruption in Ukraine: ‘Lives are in danger’

Washington- Ohio Republican Rep. Mike Turner on Sunday called for a congressional investigation into disruptions in Ukraine to satellite communications with Starlink, technology owned by SpaceX’s Elon Musk.

“There needs to be an investigation, we need to find out who these people are because lives are in danger and lives are being lost because of these things,” he added. Turner said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan“.

Last week, Ukrainian officials began reporting is experiencing difficulties with the satellite communications system, used for communication and control of drones, raising questions about the origin of this slowdown. President Trump said Friday that he did not limit Ukraine’s access to Starlink, adding that he also did not believe Musk was responsible. On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the administration had “nothing to do with this.” Rubio said no one ordered Starlink’s speed to be slowed, saying it “kind of happened” while adding that it had been restored.

Turner said the explanation wasn’t enough.

“This is something that requires an investigation, a congressional investigation,” Turner said Sunday. “We need to find out who these people are.”

Regarding technology, Turner said, “there are areas where it is restored, and areas where it may not be,” referring to assessments in Ukraine, including those by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine was still unable to use its interception systems against Russian drones due to Starlink speed restrictions.

“People’s lives are in danger, and this is happening in Ukraine, in areas where they are trying to defend themselves,” Turner said. “This is essential to U.S. support for Ukraine to defend against real aggressive attacks by Russia in Ukraine, and it must be restored.”

Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, who also appeared on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, also called for a congressional investigation.

“I certainly support investigating the source of that decision, if in fact it was a decision,” Cramer said. “It may very well be some sort of technical problem, I’m not sure.”

Cramer added: “We want to get to the bottom of this.” But in the meantime, he said, “what’s more important is that that power is restored on a large scale and that we actually strengthen Ukraine’s ability to hit these launch facilities in Russia.”

The comments come after a bipartisan group of nine senators, including Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, called for an inspector general investigation into the slowdown last week.

In a letter to the Pentagon’s inspector general, the group of senators, led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, requested an investigation to determine “whether the actions or decisions of the Department of Defense or its contractors contributed to these dangerous circumstances.”

“Any restriction of these capabilities, particularly without prior notification, raises serious questions about the Department of Defense’s contractual oversight and its responsibility to ensure the continuity of essential services,” the senators wrote.