Zelensky's plan is ready - now everyone is waiting for Elon Musk
Ukraine is asking Elon Musk to allow the use of Starlink on drones that will attack missile launchers deep inside Russia. The request comes against the backdrop of a shortage of Patriot interceptors and the intensification of Russian missile attacks.
Ukraine is currently working behind the scenes to obtain the long-awaited approval of billionaire and businessman Elon Musk for the use of drones equipped with "Starlink" satellite communication systems against ballistic missile launchers at a depth of up to 200 kilometers inside Russian territory. According to a report by the Financial Times, the Ukrainian request comes in the shadow of a severe and worrying shortage of air defense interceptors, which leaves the country exposed to increasing Russian attacks.
The ambitious move requires the direct approval of Musk, whose position regarding Ukraine and the use of his SpaceX satellite internet service by its forces has seen many ups and downs since the outbreak of the war. Beyond the uncertainty regarding Musk's decision, Ukraine faces another significant obstacle: the man who served as Kyiv's best and most direct channel to Musk, former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, was recently dismissed from his position.
Kyiv's urgent request comes at a critical time as it struggles to cope with intense missile barrages and drone attacks from Moscow. Russian ballistic missiles currently pose the greatest and most dangerous challenge for the Ukrainians. This is in light of the fact that Kyiv is suffering from a growing shortage of interceptors for the American "Patriot" system, the only system that proves itself time and again as capable of intercepting these missiles reliably and consistently.
According to the report, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's other partners to urgently provide additional interceptors. However, the extensive use of these systems in the Middle East, among other things against the backdrop of the American campaign against Iran, has significantly deepened the global shortage of US-made missiles.
According to Franz-Stefan Gady, a senior military analyst based in Vienna, even in the most optimistic scenario, it is likely that Ukraine will not receive enough interceptors in time to maintain its current air defense strategy. Gady described this strategy as "a constant attempt to intercept ballistic missiles that are already in flight towards the target." At the same time, Russia has significantly increased the production rate of its missiles and drones, a situation that leaves Ukraine with an urgent need for hundreds of Patriot interceptors just to survive the coming months and until the end of the current year.
In light of these difficult constraints, Kyiv is looking for an alternative and creative way to bypass the limitation. The emerging solution is a request for permission to use Starlink systems on self-made attack drones, with the goal of hitting strategic Russian targets across the border with greater precision. "How can Ukraine adopt a more proactive strategy of 'hitting the bow instead of the arrow'?" asked Gady, referring to the effort required to destroy the launchers, command systems, logistics infrastructure, and other assets that enable Russia to carry out the attacks.
Drones equipped with Starlink use SpaceX's satellite network to maintain a much more stable and strong connection with their operators, even at distances much longer than those allowed by conventional radio connections, while becoming much less vulnerable to standard jamming measures. Drones of this type have already proven their lethal effectiveness on the battlefield inside Ukraine. Gady emphasized that if they could be deployed across the Russian border, they "could be very useful in hunting" Russian missile launchers.
According to officials present in the room, during their meeting at the White House in July, Zelensky asked Trump to speak with Musk to obtain the long-awaited approval and allow Ukraine to operate Starlink beyond its borders. Zelensky's proposal was for Musk to allow Kyiv to use the system on deep-strike drones — a range intended to include ballistic missile launch infrastructure, command and control facilities, and other sensitive military targets. In Kyiv, they estimated that limiting the depth of the strikes might incentivize Musk to approve the move. However, Trump remained reserved and did not appear to support the plan, and those present in the Oval Office expressed great doubt that Musk would indeed grant the request.
While the businessman and billionaire has so far supported Ukraine's extensive use of Starlink for communication and defense needs, he has drawn a clear red line regarding proactive attacks inside Russian territory. The satellite internet service is vital to the Ukrainian army's command and control system, as well as to the unmanned systems that are changing the face of the battlefield. Despite this, in 2022, Musk cut off access to Ukrainian forces during an operation around the occupied Crimean Peninsula, claiming he feared it would lead to a dangerous nuclear escalation.
Last February, following a direct appeal from Fedorov, Musk blocked the Russian army's unauthorized use of Starlink against Ukraine. According to official sources in Kyiv and soldiers on the ground, this move quickly blunted Russian attacks, and even Russian military bloggers lamented the shutdown, which they claimed severely damaged their offensive operations.
Now, as Ukraine once again looks towards Musk, the man with the best chances of persuading him is no longer in Zelensky's inner circle. Last month, the Ukrainian president fired Fedorov, who was the main contact person with the tech giants in Silicon Valley, as part of a government reshuffle.
In an interview he gave last week to CBS News, Fedorov called Musk "probably the most important tech person and entrepreneur in the world for our country," but revealed in a podcast that he had found it very difficult to convince him to allow Kyiv to use the system across the border. "Let's just say it's a very difficult task right now to achieve the result we need through this communication," he noted. After Fedorov posted a message praising Musk on the social network X, the platform's owner replied: "Trying to do the right thing. I hope there will be peace soon" — without any reference to the Ukrainian request.
