Mike Turner calls for investigation into Ukraine’s loss of Starlink access

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) called for an investigation into Ukrainian forces losing access to a military version of Starlink temporarily last week.

Appearing on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Turner was asked if Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the outage “sort of happened” was sufficient explanation for lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee.

“Absolutely not. I mean, this is something where there needs to be an investigation. There needs to be a congressional investigation,” he said. “There needs to be an investigation. We need to find out who these people are because lives are at risk and lives are lost over these things.”

Turner — a member of the House Armed Services Committee — also cited reports alleging service is still spotty, specifically within the area of Ukraine “where they’re trying to defend themselves.”

“This is essential to the United States’ support of Ukraine in defending real aggressive attacks by Russia within Ukraine, and this needs to be restored,” he said.

Host Margaret Brennan followed up with Turner, asking his thoughts on SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who manages over Starlink access, asserting on social media he did not want Starlink used for offensive military action.

“But this is within Ukraine. This is defending Ukraine against aggression within Ukraine,” Turner stated. “And there should be an investigation as to why and it should be completely restored.”

Earlier this week, the Ukrainian military reported restricted access to Starshield, the military version of the satellite-based system. A source familiar with the matter told The Hill that Starlink services were specifically cut off for objects that traveled more than 100 mph, impacting the capabilities of Ukraine’s drones, airplanes and helicopters.

Musk almost immediately deferred to President Trump regarding the outage, while the president claimed he nor the SpaceX founder caused the outage.

“I didn’t do that. No, we didn’t do that at all. In fact, I don’t even think it was slowed down from what I understood. Because I just checked this morning,” Trump told reporters Friday as he left the White House en route to a campaign rally in Georgia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disputed Trump’s claims that the systems had been restored to normal function at a Friday news conference in Brussels.

“Have they returned to previous speed limits? No. But is it coming back? Yes,” he said, according to The Associated Press .