Ukraine Seeks Starlink for Deep Strikes into Russia
In July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a visit to the White House, asked his American counterpart, Donald Trump, to speak with Musk to obtain permission for the use of Starlink outside of Ukraine, according to sources from FT who were present at the meeting.
Consensus
- Ukraine requested permission to use Starlink-equipped drones for attacks up to 200 km inside Russia.
- The request was made during a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump in July.
- Trump did not support the plan and gave no specific promises.
- Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX and Starlink, is unlikely to approve the use of Starlink for attacks beyond Ukraine's borders.
- The former Ukrainian defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, had direct contact with Musk, but he was dismissed in July.
- Starlink-equipped drones are intended to improve communication reliability and resistance to jamming during long-range operations.
- The goal is to target Russian ballistic missile launch sites and other infrastructure supporting missile attacks.
- Ukraine faces a shortage of Patriot missile systems, which are the only ones capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
Points of divergence
- Musk has previously expressed support for Ukraine, then criticized it and predicted Ukraine's defeat. — tg_dwglavnoe
- Musk restricted Ukraine's use of Starlink for attacks on Russia and urged for peace negotiations. — vedomosti
- Ukraine requested permission to use Starlink for drones operating up to 200 km deep into Russia. — kommersant
- The use of Starlink for such attacks could affect six regional centers within internationally recognized borders of Russia. — tg_agentstvonews
Coverage (4 sources)
- FT: Ukraine wants to use Starlink for strikes deep into Russia, but Trump did not support this plan — DW Главное
- FT: Trump did not support request from Ukrainian Armed Forces to use Starlink for strikes deep into Russia — Ведомости
- FT: Ukraine asked for Starlink for strikes on Russian missile installations — Коммерсантъ
- Ukraine asked Elon Musk to allow use of Starlink for strikes on Russian territory up to 2... — Агентство. Новости
Key entities
More on Donald Trump
- US President Donald Trump stated on September 4 that his special…
- Trump: The World Cup brought more than $18 billion to the United…
- Ukraine Orders Ceasefire Amid U.S. Diplomatic Push