Pentagon declines to investigate Starlink outages in Ukraine

The Pentagon's Inspector General, Platt Moring, has declined to investigate disruptions to the Starlink satellite communication system in Ukraine, a request made by a bipartisan group of nine US senators. This decision has raised concerns among lawmakers about the military's willingness to confront Elon Musk's influence. The senators, four Republicans and five Democrats, were told to redirect their inquiry to the Air Force instead. The request sought to determine if US officials ordered or approved changes to Starlink and Starshield services affecting Ukraine, and whether Musk exploited a loophole in the system. Starlink and its military version Starshield are critical for Ukrainian forces, with recent slowdowns impacting their ability to intercept Russian drones. Musk confirmed restrictions were imposed due to Ukraine's alleged misuse of the system for offensive drone attacks, though the White House denies issuing any such directives.