Elon Musk refused to provide Ukraine with Starlink for strikes deep inside Russia
8 August 09:21
Instead of American Patriot interceptors—whose stockpiles have dwindled due to the war in Iran—Kyiv wanted to use Starlink satellites to strike Russian missile launchers deep inside Russia, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk refuses to grant the Ukrainian Armed Forces this capability. The Atlantic reports this, citing informed sources, as relayed by "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to the publication’s sources, former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov continues to appeal to Musk with requests to allow Ukraine to connect to Starlink satellites over internationally recognized Russian territory; earlier this year, Fedorov had reached an agreement with the billionaire to block the system for Russian troops.
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It is noted that he is doing this “behind the scenes.” Despite these efforts, sources close to Fedorov say, “there is no positive decision at this time.” Musk insists on the need to conclude a peace agreement and warns of the risk of war escalation if strikes deep into Russia are permitted, the sources said.
At present, Ukrainian forces can attack Russian targets using the Starlink system only within the officially recognized territory of Ukraine, including Crimea and the occupied territories.
Earlier, it was reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a meeting at the White House on July 28, asked President Donald Trump to allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use Starlink to guide Ukrainian drones in strikes against targets deep inside Russia.
Denis Shtilerman , co-founder of the Ukrainian defense company Fire Point, stated that equipping drones with Starlink modules would allow for more precise strikes against mobile targets in Russia.
“Instead of shooting down the arrows, we’ll be hitting the archers,” he said.
Currently, according to Shterleman, SpaceX’s satellite communications are being used to create a strike zone along the front lines, but by deploying the system in Russia, it would be possible to “expand the strike zone to 500 km” and potentially even as far as Siberia.
Two weeks ago, Musk stated in an interview with The Economist that Russia would not withdraw its troops from Ukraine, and that the war could only be stopped after concessions were made to Moscow. In 2022, due to fears of nuclear escalation, he also refused to allow Kyiv to use Starlink to strike Russian ships in Crimea.
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