Report: USAID Lost Track of 5,000+ Starlink Units Sent to Ukraine
A new report from USAID’s inspector general reveals the agency did not monitor the locations or uses of 5,175 Starlink satellite internet terminals sent to Ukraine during the war. The terminals — 1,508 purchased by USAID and 3,667 donated by SpaceX — were intended to restore life-saving connectivity for civilian services like healthcare, emergency shelters, and local governance after Russia’s 2022 invasion.
The watchdog found USAID accepted a higher risk of misuse due to wartime urgency and did not “fully mitigate” the chance of terminals ending up in the wrong hands. As a result, more than half of active units were located in areas fully or partially controlled by Moscow.
The report did not determine how the terminals reached those regions or whether they were used for military purposes. USAID said tracking them was impractical in the “unprecedented emergency” of Russian strikes on communications infrastructure.
Kyiv has previously accused Russian occupation forces of using Starlink terminals sourced from private Russian firms — allegations denied by both the Kremlin and Elon Musk.
⚠️ Your overseas job search starts here