By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-19 01:51:18 | Updated at 2026-10-19 03:38:59
2 hours ago
Republican Ohio Rep. Mike Turner said on Sunday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s explanation for Ukraine’s Starlink slowdown is not good enough.
When CBS News host Margaret Brennan asked on “Face the Nation” whether “it sort of happened” was a sufficient explanation, Turner, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, said, “Absolutely not,” and called for a congressional investigation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukraine’s use of the SpaceX satellite network remains partially restricted, Axios reported.
“Secretary Rubio said no one at the White House ordered it to be slowed down this week so that drones couldn’t use it. But effectively, that was the outcome,” Brennan said before playing Rubio’s remarks.
Rubio said “nobody ordered that Starlink speed to be slowed down. It sort of happened. But my understanding is it’s been restored.” He made the remarks Saturday evening before leaving on a trip to India, according to Axios.
“Absolutely not. I mean, this is something where there needs to be an investigation. There needs to be a congressional investigation,” Turner said.
The congressman added that weapons meant for Ukraine, funding and intelligence have broken down before, only for it to come out later that “unnamed people in the Pentagon perhaps break it.”
“We need to find out who these people are because lives are at risk and lives are lost over these things,” he said.
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Turner said reports from the Institute for the Study of War and from Zelenskyy suggest the service is “spotty,” restored in some areas and not in others.
“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 continued. (RELATED: Ukraine Launches Over 1,000 Drones At Russia, Hitting Oil Depots, Amid Trump’s Demand For Energy Ceasefire)
Brennan noted that Elon Musk, who owns SpaceX, “publicly opposes President Zelenskyy” and has said he does not want Starlink used for offensive military action. Turner replied that “this is defending Ukraine against aggression within Ukraine.”
Turner said a decision has been made to let Ukraine use Starshield, the U.S. government-controlled version of the network, to defend itself, and that “there should be an investigation as to why, and it should be completely restored.”
Ukrainian officials say the network, which once worked on drones flying 400 kilometers per hour, now cuts off at 161 kilometers per hour, Axios reported. A White House official told the outlet, “we didn’t slow down Starlink at all, and the service is currently operational.”
Later on in the interview with Brennan, Turner said that President Donald Trump has the authority to impose the sanctions he waived under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 and that “I would encourage him to do so.” He also said the European Union is the “fourth largest offender” in buying energy from Russia.
Turner faces Democrat Kristina Knickerbocker, a nurse practitioner and Air Force veteran, in the November election, according to the Dayton Daily News. The nonpartisan Cook Political report rates the race as “Lean R.”
Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving the Russian sanctions and tariffs required under the law, which he signed on Sept. 18.
