- United States
- Utah
- Letter
Investigate the White House Order That Cut Ukraine's Battlefield Internet
To: Sen. Lee, Rep. Maloy, Sen. Curtis
From: A verified voter in Salt Lake City, UT
October 17
Investigate the White House order that throttled Ukraine's Starshield satellite system during an active Russian attack. According to Reuters, an order from inside the White House directed the Department of Defense to slow the military-grade Starlink terminals Ukraine depends on for battlefield communications and drone operations. Ukrainian defense forces received no warning, and several missions were disrupted as a result.
The timing is damning. The cutoff came days after Trump publicly criticized Ukraine for striking Russian oil refineries, refineries that Ukraine was hitting while the White House was cutting a deal to lift sanctions on Russian oil sales. Elon Musk himself confirmed on X that any limits on Starlink speed are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately the president. A senior White House official denied Trump gave the order but refused to say whether another administration official did.
Congress cannot let this stand without answers. Someone in this administration sabotaged an ally mid-battle, and the public deserves to know who gave that order and why.