Congressional Democrats on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees are demanding President Donald Trump explain why Ukrainian forces’ access to SpaceX Starshield services was restricted earlier this week.

In a letter first reported by MS NOW, Rep. Jason Crow, D-Co., ranking member of the Armed Services Committee; Adam Smith, D-Wash., ranking member of the Select Committee on Intelligence; Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn.; and Rep. George Whitesides, D-Calif., lambasted the Trump administration for refusing to respond to congressional inquiries on who directed changes to Ukraine’s access to Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink services.

The lawmakers were not satisfied with either the possibility that Elon Musk’s company SpaceX independently made the decision — which Musk has denied — or the U.S. government made the call.

“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government,” Musk wrote Oct. 14 on X. “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”

The Democratic lawmakers want the Trump administration to explain exactly who controls the crucial satellite connections Ukraine uses to defend itself.

“If a private company can unilaterally restrict a critical operational service governed by a signed contract with the Department of Defense during an active conflict, it raises serious concerns about public accountability and the outsized influence of private actors over U.S. national security matters,” the lawmakers wrote.

“If, on the other hand, the direction was given by your Administration, it raises serious questions about U.S. defense policy regarding Russia and Ukraine,” they added. “Either way, the American people, our allies, and Ukraine deserve to know why this decision with life-threatening consequences was made.”

A U.S. official, granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation, told MS NOW that “no such request was ever made by the President.” The White House ignored repeated questions on whether another administration official or agency directed the change.

“As his popularity plummets at home, he’s shamefully abandoning our allies and once again cozying up to dictators,” Crow said in a statement, referring to Trump. “We need to stand with the people of Ukraine as Russia continues its war of aggression, not fund Putin’s war machine that is killing civilians.”

The Democrats noted the disruption to Ukraine’s military operations and defense capabilities put civilians at risk. The satellite signal disruptions also came amid Trump’s diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pressure on Ukraine to stop attacking Russian energy sites, despite its adversary failing to abide by the so-called energy ceasefire announced by Trump.

They asked for a response by Oct. 30.

Their letter, which did not include any Republican signatories, follows a bipartisan Senate effort calling for the Department of Defense Inspector General to investigate the Starlink disruptions in Ukraine.

On Thursday, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., led a bipartisan letter seeking an investigation into whether the restricted Starshield service put U.S. diplomatic, military, and security personnel inside Ukraine in danger and who approved the disruptions.

Starshield speeds began to improve on Thursday, according to Ukrainian chargé d’affaires in Washington Denys Sienik.

“We hope all will be resumed to the previous level,” Sienik said in a statement. “Speed ​​is critical for logistics, and for intercepting the jet-powered Shahed drones especially when Russia constantly uses them to attack our cities and commit war crimes and when Foreign Minister Lavrov openly states that Russia opposes a ceasefire.”

A source familiar with the matter told MS NOW the Ukrainian government has yet to receive any response from SpaceX or the Pentagon.

Wednesday “saw one of the most massive Shahed attacks, occurring precisely when our defense system’s speed was being throttled, and the circumstances behind this are deeply concerning,” said the source, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

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Ukraine was blindsided by new limits placed on satellite connectivity inside the country that handicapped its ability to use military drones and defend against Russian attacks.

After bipartisan backlash on Wednesday, Elon Musk said it was the U.S., not his company SpaceX that provides the systems, that made the call.

The limits affected both the Starlink satellite connections, used for civilian and defensive activities, as well as Starshield, the version designed for government and military use for both defensive and offensive capabilities.

On Tuesday night, Ukraine discovered that neither system could connect to data from objects — like satellite-controlled defensive and offensive drones — traveling more than 100 miles per hour, a source familiar with the actions told MS NOW on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

Serhii Beskrestnov, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s defense technology adviser, confirmed overnight that the speed limit for use of Starshield services “resulted in the disruption of several missions.”

“It is clear that this action is not coincidental and is related to the current political situation,” Beskrestnov wrote.

The Starshield connections are “critical for Ukraine’s defense,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote Wednesday on X, saying the high-speed use was being restored.

Musk said the Starshield satellite connections the Ukraine military relies on are ultimately controlled by President Donald Trump.

“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government,” Musk wrote on X. “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”

The White House, Pentagon and SpaceX did not respond to MS NOW’s requests for comment.

SpaceX provided no prior warning to the Ukrainian government about the limitation, the source said. Ukrainian forces learned about the Starshield speed restrictions from customer support after filing a complaint about operational issues.

SpaceX informed Ukrainian officials that the restriction applies to drones and aircraft flying at speeds of 100 mph or higher, but, the source said, military units also reported issues with performance at lower drone speeds.

“This makes the operation of UAVs, airplanes and helicopters at high speeds impossible, which will also impact efforts to counter Shahed drones within Ukraine,” the source said, adding the speed restriction affects all defense operations and logistics, giving Russians “a real leverage on the frontline” at a time when Ukraine has effectively stopped their advances.

Even Republicans had strong words for both Musk and the Trump administration.

“I’m confident this does not reflect a change in SpaceX policy because if so, intentionally degrading Ukraine’s ability to defend itself might be construed as aiding and abetting a mass murderer,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-S.C., wrote to Musk on X, asking him to clarify SpaceX’s position.

The timing of the Starshield changes coincides with Ukrainian officials saying the U.S. and allied partners have not been giving them the same amount of early warnings about incoming Russian ballistic missile attacks.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said Trump’s decision to reduce intelligence sharing with Ukraine and access to Starlink equated to “aiding the invader & the war criminal who bombs cities,” and threatens to reduce congressional support for the Trump administration.

“Their agenda is dead unless they change paths,” Bacon wrote on X.

Ukraine Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.; Mike Quigley, D-Ill.; and Joe Wilson, R-S.C., wrote in a bipartisan statement they were “alarmed” by reports of the U.S. withholding both intelligence and Starlink support, “putting innocent civilians and American citizens in Ukraine at the mercy of Russian attacks.”

“U.S. allies pay for Ukraine’s access to Starlink,” the lawmakers wrote. “Restrictions that put civilians in harm’s way are unconscionable and will not be accepted by Congress.”

The source familiar with Ukrainian forces’ use of Starshield confirmed to MS NOW that the signal was improving as of Wednesday afternoon, but only slightly. “The situation is better than before, but it is still not good enough, and the service has not returned to its previous level,” the source said.

Ukraine is seeking to restore its unlimited access regardless of speed, which was part of the current service agreement contracted through the U.S. government. The agreement has been in place since November 2025 and is expected to remain in effect through May 2027.

As SpaceX reduced Starshield connectivity for Ukraine overnight, Russia targeted critical energy infrastructure in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions in a deadly ballistic missile strike.

Earlier this week, Trump denied withholding intelligence essential for Ukraine’s defenses after multiple threats against Ukraine if it failed to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries — even as Russia has flouted the so-called energy ceasefire announced by the president.

Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that the committee “has received no notification of any change in posture with respect to intelligence support to Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy said in an interview Wednesday that he felt betrayed by Trump’s diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced last week, and that his immediate response was that Ukraine is “losing a strong partner” in America.

“We can’t be weak, otherwise we can’t survive,” he told Piers Morgan. “That’s why it’s painful when President Trump chooses one side — not our side.”

Zelenskyy criticized people around Trump for giving the president “wrong” advice.

“I think his advisers are wrong. I don’t know who — who is pushing him not to the right side,” Zelenskyy said. “This is not the right side of history.”

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