Bipartisan lawmakers press Hegseth to expand Ukraine’s access to Starshield

A bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers is pressing the Trump administration to restore and expand Ukraine’s access to Starshield satellite systems, warning that a failure to do so will cripple Kyiv’s military operations against Russia.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers — all of them staunch Ukraine allies — urged the administration not only to lift any speed restrictions related to the systems, but also to expand the Starshield contract to bolster Ukraine’s military capacity, even over Russian territory. 

“Ukrainian forces depend on these services for command and control, intelligence sharing, battlefield communications, and the operation of unmanned systems,” the lawmakers wrote. “Any degradation in service, including reduced connection speeds, restricted geographic coverage, or interruptions in access, undermines Ukraine’s military effectiveness and provides Russian forces with an operational advantage that will extend the conflict and put more civilians in harm’s way.”

The letter was signed by three senators — Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) — and five members of the House: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.). 

The push is just the latest part of a broader outcry on Capitol Hill over reports that Starshield’s receivers quit working earlier this month for Ukrainian military equipment operating above a certain speed. Starshield is a specialized branch of the Starlink satellite systems run by SpaceX, which is owned by tech mogul Elon Musk.

Musk has said any decisions to restrict Starshield were not his and must have come from President Trump and the Pentagon. A recent report by The Wall Street Journal, however, contradicted that account, saying Musk was behind the restrictions. The report infuriated many lawmakers in the Capitol, who say decisions affecting the military capability of Ukraine — or any U.S. ally — should not be left in the hands of any single company. 

“Decisions regarding service availability, coverage, and performance should not be left solely to the discretion of a private provider when they have direct consequences for Ukraine’s ability to defend itself,” the bipartisan group wrote to Hegseth. 

Trump on Thursday said his administration had contacted Musk, who in turn restored the Starshield services to Ukraine. But Ukrainian officials on Friday said the systems were still not functioning. 

The issue has emerged on the campaign trail in the final weeks before the midterms, with Democrats accusing Trump and Musk, a major GOP donor, of cozying up to Russia at the expense of a democratic ally. 

The topic is also likely to resurface in the lame-duck session, as some House Republicans are already warning GOP leaders that they’re ready to block their party’s legislative agenda unless the administration reverses course and lends more help to Ukraine. 

In their letter, the bipartisan Ukraine allies offered one idea for how Hegseth could do so: They want Defense Department officials to use their unilateral powers under the Defense Production Act “to prioritize the provision and expansion of satellite communications services necessary to support Ukraine’s defense.”

“These authorities should be considered alongside existing contractual mechanisms to ensure that Ukraine maintains reliable access to the bandwidth, service levels, and geographic coverage required for its lawful military operations,” the lawmakers wrote. “Ensuring reliable access to satellite communications is essential to sustaining Ukraine’s defense and protecting U.S. national security interests.”