The U.S. Agency for International Development failed to monitor whether Ukraine misused thousands of Starlink terminals the agency delivered to the country after Russia’s invasion in 2022, according to an inspector general’s report.
That is according to Bloomberg News, Ukrinform reports.
A draft transfer agreement prohibited “military use” of the terminals, the report notes. They were delivered for use in hospitals, schools, communications and other civilian purposes. However, the report said that after the terminals were provided to Ukraine, USAID did not “fully define clear expectations and conditions” for how the terminals should be used nor did the agency “establish a monitoring system for the Starlink terminals.”
Later, allegations surfaced that Ukraine’s military had weaponized the Starlink terminals and used them to pilot drones and target artillery strikes against Russian military equipment, vehicles and mobile command centers. Ukrainian officials have acknowledged the terminals were used in military operations.
The inspector general’s report contains no new evidence that the Starlink terminals were weaponized by Ukraine. But it notes that after allegations of misuse surfaced in media reports, Starlink’s parent company, SpaceX, and its chief executive Elon Musk publicly warned Ukraine against using the terminals to operate drones.
Last year, USAID’s Office of Inspector General announced it had launched an inspection of Ukraine’s use of the Starlink terminals to “determine the extent to which USAID mitigated the risk of misuse” of 5,175 Starlink terminals the agency delivered to Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection (SSSCIP) after Russia targeted Internet and telecommunications networks. USAID contracted with SpaceX and purchased 1,508 terminals for Ukraine. The company donated 3,667.
USAID explained to the inspector general that it was “logistically impossible” to keep tabs on the terminals because of the “challenging wartime environment” that resulted in its staff being “confined to hotels.” Moreover, USAID said the agency “transferred responsibility for the terminals to the government of Ukraine upon delivery.”
“The Agency initially drafted conditions that restricted the terminals to civilian use and required SSSCIP to establish safeguards for proper use and ensure secondary recipients agreed to conditions of use in writing,” the report said. “However, it never exercised this agreement.”
USAID officials told the inspector general they did not know where the terminals were or how they were used but “hoped” Ukraine “used them as intended.” The report said USAID did not request information or inquire about the use of the Starlink terminals the agency delivered until after the inspector general launched its inspection last year.
Photo: spotme.ua
Source: US says Ukraine should not have used Starlink terminals on front lines
