diff --git a/pkg/controller/provider/container/vsphere/model.go b/pkg/controller/provider/container/vsphere/model.go
index 45ed63eac..63cb19904 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/provider/container/vsphere/model.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/provider/container/vsphere/model.go
@@ -688,44 +688,50 @@ func (v *VmAdapter) updateDisks(devArray *types.ArrayOfVirtualDevice) {
 			switch disk.Backing.(type) {
 			case *types.VirtualDiskFlatVer1BackingInfo:
 				backing := disk.Backing.(*types.VirtualDiskFlatVer1BackingInfo)
-				datastoreId, _ := sanitize(backing.Datastore.Value)
 				md := model.Disk{
 					Key:      disk.Key,
 					File:     backing.FileName,
 					Capacity: disk.CapacityInBytes,
-					Datastore: model.Ref{
+				}
+				if backing.Datastore != nil {
+					datastoreId, _ := sanitize(backing.Datastore.Value)
+					md.Datastore = model.Ref{
 						Kind: model.DsKind,
 						ID:   datastoreId,
-					},
+					}
 				}
 				disks = append(disks, md)
 			case *types.VirtualDiskFlatVer2BackingInfo:
 				backing := disk.Backing.(*types.VirtualDiskFlatVer2BackingInfo)
-				datastoreId, _ := sanitize(backing.Datastore.Value)
 				md := model.Disk{
 					Key:      disk.Key,
 					File:     backing.FileName,
 					Capacity: disk.CapacityInBytes,
 					Shared:   backing.Sharing != "sharingNone",
-					Datastore: model.Ref{
+				}
+				if backing.Datastore != nil {
+					datastoreId, _ := sanitize(backing.Datastore.Value)
+					md.Datastore = model.Ref{
 						Kind: model.DsKind,
 						ID:   datastoreId,
-					},
+					}
 				}
 				disks = append(disks, md)
 			case *types.VirtualDiskRawDiskMappingVer1BackingInfo:
 				backing := disk.Backing.(*types.VirtualDiskRawDiskMappingVer1BackingInfo)
-				datastoreId, _ := sanitize(backing.Datastore.Value)
 				md := model.Disk{
 					Key:      disk.Key,
 					File:     backing.FileName,
 					Capacity: disk.CapacityInBytes,
 					Shared:   backing.Sharing != "sharingNone",
-					Datastore: model.Ref{
+					RDM:      true,
+				}
+				if backing.Datastore != nil {
+					datastoreId, _ := sanitize(backing.Datastore.Value)
+					md.Datastore = model.Ref{
 						Kind: model.DsKind,
 						ID:   datastoreId,
-					},
-					RDM: true,
+					}
 				}
 				disks = append(disks, md)
 			case *types.VirtualDiskRawDiskVer2BackingInfo:
diff --git a/validation/policies/io/konveyor/forklift/vmware/datastore.rego b/validation/policies/io/konveyor/forklift/vmware/datastore.rego
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a888a853c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/validation/policies/io/konveyor/forklift/vmware/datastore.rego
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+package io.konveyor.forklift.vmware
+
+null_datastore {
+    some i
+    count(input.disks[i].datastore.id) == 0
+}
+
+concerns[flag] {
+    null_datastore
+    flag := {
+        "category": "Critical",
+        "label": "Disk is not located on a datastore",
+        "assessment": "The VM is configured with a disk that is not located on a datastore. The VM cannot be migrated"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/validation/policies/io/konveyor/forklift/vmware/datastore_test.rego b/validation/policies/io/konveyor/forklift/vmware/datastore_test.rego
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..00aee91e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/validation/policies/io/konveyor/forklift/vmware/datastore_test.rego
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+package io.konveyor.forklift.vmware
+
+test_with_no_disks {
+    mock_vm := {
+        "name": "test",
+        "disks": []
+    }
+    results := concerns with input as mock_vm
+    count(results) == 0
+}
+
+test_with_valid_disk {
+    mock_vm := {
+        "name": "test",
+        "disks": [
+            { "datastore": { "kind": "datastore", "id": "datastore-1" } }
+        ]
+    }
+    results := concerns with input as mock_vm
+    count(results) == 0
+}
+
+test_with_invalid_disk {
+    mock_vm := {
+        "name": "test",
+        "disks": [
+            { "datastore": { "kind": "datastore", "id": "datastore-1" } },
+            { "datastore": { "kind": "", "id": "" } },
+        ]
+    }
+    results := concerns with input as mock_vm
+    count(results) == 1
+}