Zelensky asked Trump to negotiate with Musk on using Starlink for strikes on Russian launchers - The Atlantic
Kyiv • UNN
At a closed meeting with Trump, Zelensky asked for assistance in obtaining Musk's permission to use Starlink for guiding drones to launchers in Russia. Trump promised to consider the request but gave no specific commitments.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a closed meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, asked him to facilitate obtaining permission from Elon Musk to use the Starlink system for guiding Ukrainian drones toward ballistic missile launchers on the territory of Russia. This is reported by The Atlantic citing three informed sources, as reported by UNN.
Details
According to the publication, SpaceX currently restricts the use of Starlink to the territory of Ukraine, including temporarily occupied regions, and blocks the system's operation inside Russia. As a result, Ukrainian long-range drones are forced to use less reliable guidance systems.
During the negotiations, Zelenskyy explained to Trump that Ukraine needs the ability to carry out precision strikes on mobile ballistic missile launchers that Russia uses to attack Ukrainian cities. According to the publication's sources, Trump said he would consider the request and talk to Musk, but did not name any specific commitments or deadlines.
The Atlantic notes that Zelenskyy also requested a personal meeting with Elon Musk to discuss this issue, but the billionaire declined the invitation.
As an alternative, the Ukrainian side proposed granting access to the military satellite network Starshield, also developed by SpaceX. At the same time, Ukrainian officials emphasized that integrating this system would be more complex and expensive, whereas Starlink is already fully integrated into the operation of Ukrainian drones
According to the publication, Zelenskyy argued his proposal by stating that after the reduction of U.S. Patriot interceptor missile stocks, Ukraine needs other ways to neutralize Russian ballistic missiles. One of them could be destroying the launchers before launch.
At the same time, The Atlantic's sources note that the U.S. administration is considering possible risks, as the use of American technologies for strikes on Russian territory could be perceived by Moscow as additional escalation. Therefore, a final decision on this issue has not yet been made.