Ukraine has asked Elon Musk to allow the use of Starlink satellite internet on drones for strikes against targets deep inside Russia, according to the Financial Times, citing sources. The request concerns attacks on infrastructure used to launch ballistic missiles at distances of up to 200 km from the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the issue during a meeting with Donald Trump at the White House in late July, asking the U.S. president to persuade Musk to grant permission. However, Trump did not commit to the plan and, according to FT's interlocutors, appeared not to support it. Musk himself, officials believe, is also unlikely to approve the request.
Using Starlink allows drones to maintain more reliable communication with operators over long distances than with conventional radio channels, making them less vulnerable to jamming. Kyiv had hoped that limiting the strike depth to 200 km would make the request acceptable to Musk.
The situation is complicated by the recent dismissal of former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had direct contact with Musk and lobbied Kyiv's interests. It was through his mediation that Ukraine earlier this year managed to get Starlink switched off for Russian military forces. In an interview after his dismissal, Fedorov admitted that no progress had been made in persuading Musk on this issue.
Meanwhile, The Moscow Times recalls that Bloomberg previously reported that Ukrainian drones with Starlink could be used to strike Russian launchers. A shortage of missiles for Patriot systems has left Ukraine virtually unprotected against Russian ballistic strikes, prompting Kyiv to stop publishing data on the number of missiles launched.