Zelensky Asks Trump to Get Musk's Starlink Approval for Strikes Inside Russia
Ukraine asked Trump to get Elon Musk to unlock Starlink for drone strikes inside Russia, aiming to hit the mobile missile launchers threatening Ukraine's power grid this winter. Starlink currently only works on Ukrainian soil. Trump said he would consider it; Musk already decline
President Zelensky asked President Trump during closed-door White House talks this week to get Elon Musk's approval for Starlink-guided Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia, aimed at destroying the mobile ballistic missile launchers Moscow could use against Ukraine's energy grid this winter. Starlink currently works only on Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, forcing Ukraine's long-range drones to rely on less precise AI-based navigation for cross-border strikes. Trump said he would consider the request and raise it with Musk but made no commitment; Musk separately declined a meeting Zelensky requested to discuss the plan. Ukraine is also weighing SpaceX's military-grade Starshield network as a costlier, harder-to-integrate backup. Kyiv separately asked Washington for 300 Patriot interceptors; Trump instead offered a license for Ukraine to manufacture the missiles domestically, a process expected to take years.