Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pitched President Donald Trump and other American officials on helping Ukraine win permission from tech titan Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia.
The push for expanded use of Starlink comes as Zelenskyy looks for alternate ways to mitigate the need for U.S. Patriot air defense systems to thwart the steady barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian territory. The interceptors are in shorter supply as the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran continues to rage, and Trump on Friday appeared to back away from a recent commitment to give Ukraine a license to produce them.
Zelenskyy made the request directly to Trump in an Oval Office meeting this week during his whirlwind trip to Washington, according to one person familiar with the matter. He also told lawmakers later on Capitol Hill that he wanted Starlink to help with targeting inside Russia, according to a person in the room. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive private discussions. Trump did not commit to Zelenskyy’s request.
Zelenskyy has been pushing to expand Starlink use for weeks
Musk has allowed the Ukrainians to use Starlink inside their own territory, including in Ukrainian regions occupied by the Russians, but has restricted use of the satellite system inside Russia.
Zelenskyy has been making the case for expanded use of Starlink with U.S. officials for at least several weeks. The White House, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington and officials at SpaceX, which owns Starlink, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Zelenskyy’s request. Zelenskyy’s efforts to get Musk’s permission to use Starlink to help with Ukrainian attacks inside Russia was first reported by The Atlantic.
Granting permission for an expanded use of Starlink could come with risk for Musk. The Associated Press reported in December that two NATO-nation intelligence services suspect Russia is developing a new anti-satellite weapon to target Musk’s Starlink constellation with destructive orbiting clouds of shrapnel.
The intelligence findings were shown to the AP on condition that the services involved were not identified, and the news organization was not able to independently verify the findings’ conclusions.
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Russia views Starlink as a grave threat, the findings indicate. The thousands of low-orbiting satellites have been pivotal for Ukraine’s survival against Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.
Ukrainian leader also pitched US lawmakers during recent visit
Zelenskyy had traveled to Washington to attend Sen. Lindsey Graham’s memorial service and used the visit to check in with Trump and allies on Capitol Hill.
Zelenskyy visited the Capitol following his meeting with Trump in the White House earlier in the day. Senators said the requests the Ukrainian president made were similar to what he had told them earlier in July during a meeting at the NATO summit in Turkey.
“They need access to Starlink long term to make their longer-range and intermediate-range systems more accurate,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“They prefer to be exactly on target, as opposed to, in the general area,” Rounds said. “He made that pretty clear.”
Zelenskyy spoke with lawmakers late Tuesday evening ahead of a Senate vote on a punishing new Russia sanctions package, which advanced toward a final vote expected next week.
Zelenskyy also reiterated Ukraine’s need for more U.S. Patriots and the previously discussed licensing agreement so Ukraine could start producing the system in house, said Rounds, who was part of the delegation of U.S. lawmakers at the NATO conference in Ankara.
“There was a consistency from what President Zelenskyy shared with us in Turkey two weeks ago to what he shared with us again once again, in terms of what their needs are,” Rounds said. “It’s pretty straightforward.”
Trump appears to edge away from Patriots licensing commitment
But Trump appeared to edge away from the earlier commitment to give Ukraine a license to make Patriots for its military needs during a gathering of his Cabinet at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, on Friday.
Trump at the NATO summit in Turkey declared “we’ll give them the right to make Patriots” to counter missile attacks from Russia in their more than four-year war.
The president told reporters on Friday that the licensing matter remains under discussion and said he hasn’t made a decision on it.
“We’re talking about it. But it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology,” Trump said.
Trump’s relationship has improved with Zelenskyy as Ukraine has gained strength on the battlefield with Russia in recent months. And Zelenskyy has sought to portray that his war with Russia is connected to the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran.
U.S. intelligence has shown that Tehran provided Russia with drones to use against Ukraine. More recently, Russia has prepared to ship drones for Iran, including upgraded versions of the technology that Tehran originally supplied to Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine, according to U.S. and European officials.
Zelenskyy said ahead of this week’s visit to Washington that he’d share evidence with the United States that shows Russia is assisting Iran in targeting U.S. bases in the Middle East via satellite surveillance.
Zelenskyy also has been making the case to the Trump administration that his country is well positioned to help the U.S. counter Iranian drone attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East and Gulf allies’ infrastructure.
“He has been very emphatic they are going to provide more aid to us in unmanned warfare, aerial unmanned warfare, which has been so instrumental in Iran — his people have been there, they’ve been providing technology and know-how — and they’re ready, willing and able to do it in even greater magnitude,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, who sits on the Armed Services Committee. “He was very emphatic on that point.”
AP writers John Leicester in Paris and Emma Burrows in London contributed reporting.
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