Elon Musk Refuses Ukrainian Request to Enable Starlink for Deep Strikes Inside Russia

Elon Musk has refused to grant the Ukrainian Armed Forces the ability to use Starlink satellite communications for strikes deep inside Russian territory.

Kyiv had sought this access to target Russian missile launchers as an alternative to American Patriot interceptors, whose stockpiles have declined due to the war in Iran, as reported by The Atlantic on August 7.

During a White House meeting on July 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked US President Donald Trump to arrange a meeting with Elon Musk to discuss permitting the Ukrainian military to use Starlink to guide drones during strikes against targets deep inside Russia, but Musk refused.

Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who reached an agreement with the billionaire earlier this year to block the satellite network for Russian troops, continues to reach out to Musk through backchannel avenues.

Sources close to Fedorov state that there is currently no positive decision. Musk insists on the necessity of a peace agreement and cites the risk of escalating the war if strikes deep inside Russia are permitted.

At present, Ukrainian forces are only able to attack Russian targets using the Starlink system within the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine, including Crimea and temporarily occupied regions.

Denys Shtilerman, co-founder of the Ukrainian defense company Fire Point, noted that equipping drones with Starlink modules would allow for more precise strikes on mobile targets in Russia. "Instead of shooting down arrows, we will hit the archers," Shtilerman stated.

He explained that SpaceX satellite communications are currently used to create a strike zone along the front line during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but using the system inside Russia could "expand the strike zone to 500 km" and potentially reach Siberia.

On July 24, in an interview with The Economist, Musk stated that Russia would not withdraw its troops from Ukraine and argued that the war could only end through concessions to Moscow. In 2022, citing concerns over nuclear escalation, Musk similarly refused to grant Kyiv the ability to use Starlink for strikes against Russian ships in Crimea.