Ukraine seeks Musk’s help to hit Russian missile launchers

Ukraine is seeking approval to use Starlink-equipped drones against ballistic missile launchers up to 200km inside Russia as Kyiv faces a severe shortage of air-defence interceptors, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move would require approval from Elon Musk, whose stance towards Ukraine and its use of his satellite internet service has oscillated. Another potential obstacle is that the man in Kyiv with a direct line to Musk, former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, was recently fired.

Ukraine’s request comes as it struggles to counter intensifying Russian missile and drone strikes. Ballistic missiles pose the biggest challenge, with Kyiv running short of Patriot interceptors, the only system Ukraine has used to reliably shoot them down.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pleaded with Trump and Ukraine’s other partners to provide more interceptors, but their use in the Middle East, including during the US war with Iran, has deepened a global shortage of the American-made missiles.

Even in the best case, said Franz-Stefan Gady, a military analyst based in Vienna, Ukraine was unlikely to receive enough interceptors in time to maintain its current air-defence strategy, which he described as “essentially trying to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles”.

Russia has increased missile and drone production, leaving Ukraine needing hundreds of Patriot interceptors to last through to the end of the year.

Kyiv is seeking a way around that constraint by requesting approval to use Starlink on its own attack drones to strike key Russian targets across the border more accurately.

“How can Ukraine engage in a more proactive, shooting-the-archer strategy?” Gady asked, referring to an effort to destroy the launchers, command systems, logistics and other assets that enable the attacks.

Starlink-enabled drones use SpaceX’s satellite network to maintain stronger connections with operators over longer distances than conventional radio links, while making them less vulnerable to ordinary jamming.

Such drones have already proven effective on the battlefield inside Ukraine. If they can be deployed beyond the border, said Gady, they “could be very useful in hunting” Russian missile launchers.

Zelenskyy asked Trump during their White House meeting in July to speak to Musk about securing permission for Ukraine to use Starlink beyond its borders to target Russian ballistic missile launchers, according to people present.

Zelenskyy’s pitch was for Musk to allow Ukraine to use Starlink on deep-strike drones up to 200km inside Russia, a range that would include ballistic missile launch infrastructure, command systems and other assets, the people said.

Kyiv believed that limiting the depth of those strikes could incentivise Musk to approve the request.

But Trump was non-committal and did not appear supportive of the plan, according to people in the Oval Office meeting. They said they believed Musk would not grant Kyiv approval.

Musk could not be reached for comment.

The tech billionaire has supported Ukraine’s extensive use of Starlink for communications and defence. SpaceX’s satellite internet service is vital to the Ukrainian military’s command and control and to the unmanned aerial, naval and ground systems that are reshaping the battlefield.

But Musk has stopped short of allowing Ukraine to use Starlink to strike inside Russia. In 2022, he cut off access to Ukrainian forces during an operation around the occupied Crimean Peninsula, saying he feared it could provoke a nuclear escalation.

In February, after a direct request from Fedorov, then Ukraine’s defence minister, Musk blocked the Russian military’s unauthorised use of Starlink against Ukraine.

The move quickly blunted Russian attacks, according to Ukrainian officials and troops. Russian military bloggers also lamented the shutdown, saying it had hampered offensive operations.

Now, as Ukraine again seeks Musk’s help, the man best placed to lobby him is no longer in Zelenskyy’s inner circle. Last month, Zelenskyy sacked Fedorov, one of his most effective cabinet members and a key interlocutor with Silicon Valley, as part of a wider government overhaul.

Speaking to CBS News last week, Fedorov called Musk “probably the most important tech person and entrepreneur in the world for our country”, saying his shutdown of Russia’s illegal use of Starlink in Ukraine had “protected our air defence, saved our air force, and spared thousands of civilian lives”.

But Fedorov told a Ukrainian podcaster on August 6 that he had made little headway in persuading Musk to allow Kyiv to use Starlink across the Russian border, despite remaining in contact after his dismissal.

“Let’s just say, [it’s] a difficult task right now to achieve the outcome we need through this communication,” Fedorov said.

After Fedorov posted his praise for Musk on X on Monday, the platform owner replied: “Trying to do the right thing. I hope there is peace soon.” He made no mention of Ukraine’s Starlink request.