Slotkin, Kelly, Tillis Press Pentagon to Reinstate Starshield Capabilities for Ukraine 

Bipartisan and bicameral effort seeks to support Ukraine in restoring their critical Starshield communications 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) alongside U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Jim Costa (D-CA- 21), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19) called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Department of Defense to renew its Starshield contract and bring back Ukraine’s access to Starlink and Starshield satellite communications after the recent outages.

“Ukrainian forces depend on these services for command and control, intelligence sharing, battlefield communications, and the operation of unmanned systems,” the Senators 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 lawmakers pushed for unlimited-speed service to be reinstated so Ukraine has the bandwidth it needs to defend itself. They also urged the DoD to review what authority it holds under the Defense Production Act to ensure that access stays dependable going forward. 

 “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 United States and Europe have made significant investments in Ukraine’s defense because of how a Russian victory would put our security at risk. Those investments should not be undermined by preventable disruptions to the communications infrastructure on which Ukrainian forces depend,” the Senators concluded.  

Read the full text of the letter here. 

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