Zelenskyy asks Trump to win Musk nod for Starlink strikes inside Russia

Washington,UPDATED: Aug 1, 2026 03:42 IST

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked President Donald Trump and other US officials to help secure Elon Musk's permission for Ukraine to use the Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia. The request comes as Zelenskyy looks for other ways to meet Ukraine's defence needs while supplies of US Patriot air defence interceptors are under strain as the US and Israeli war against Iran continues.

Zelenskyy raised the matter directly with Trump during an Oval Office meeting this week and later repeated it to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, according to people familiar with the discussions. Trump did not commit to the request. Zelenskyy also pressed for more Patriot systems and for a licence that would allow Ukraine to produce them domestically, though Trump said on Friday that he had not yet decided on that issue.

Musk has allowed Ukraine to use Starlink within its own territory, including in Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia, but has restricted its use inside Russia. According to one person familiar with the matter, Zelenskyy made the request to Trump during his brief visit to Washington. A person who was in the room said Zelenskyy also told lawmakers he wanted Starlink to help with targeting inside Russia. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private and sensitive.

Zelenskyy has been making the case for expanded Starlink use with US officials for several weeks. The White House, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington and SpaceX, which owns Starlink, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Atlantic first reported Zelenskyy's efforts to get Musk's approval for Starlink to support Ukrainian attacks inside Russia.

Allowing wider use of Starlink could also carry risks for Musk. The Associated Press reported in December that two intelligence services from NATO countries suspect Russia is developing an anti-satellite weapon to target the Starlink network with destructive orbiting clouds of shrapnel. The findings were shown to the AP on condition that the services were not identified, and the news agency said it could not independently verify their conclusions.

The intelligence findings indicate that Russia sees Starlink as a serious threat. The network of low-orbit satellites has been central to Ukraine's ability to defend itself since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Zelenskyy travelled to Washington to attend Senator Lindsey Graham's memorial service and used the visit to meet Trump and allies on Capitol Hill. Senators said the requests he made were similar to those he had shared 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 Senator Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota and 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 on Tuesday evening before a Senate vote on a new package of sanctions on Russia, which moved towards a final vote expected next week. He also repeated Ukraine's need for more US Patriots and the previously discussed licensing agreement so Ukraine could begin producing the system on its own, Rounds said. Rounds, who was part of the US lawmakers' delegation at the NATO conference in Ankara, said, "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. It's pretty straightforward."

Trump, however, appeared to step back from his earlier commitment to allow Ukraine to make Patriot systems. Speaking at a Cabinet gathering at Camp David in Maryland on Friday, he said the question was still being discussed. At the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump had said, "we'll give them the right to make Patriots" to help counter Russian missile attacks. On Friday, he told reporters, "We're talking about it. But it's a hard thing to give away that kind of technology."

Trump's relationship with Zelenskyy has improved in recent months as Ukraine has gained strength on the battlefield, and Zelenskyy has argued that Russia's war on Ukraine is linked to the US and Israel's conflict with Iran. US intelligence has shown that Tehran supplied drones to Russia for use against Ukraine. More recently, US and European officials said Russia had prepared to send drones to Iran, including upgraded versions of technology that Tehran had originally supplied to Moscow after the invasion.

Before this week's visit to Washington, Zelenskyy said he would share evidence with the United States that Russia was helping Iran target US bases in the Middle East through satellite surveillance. He has also argued to the Trump administration that Ukraine is well placed to help the US counter Iranian drone attacks on US bases and infrastructure used by Gulf allies.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut who is also on the Armed Services Committee, said, "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. He was very emphatic on that point."

In summary, Zelenskyy's Washington visit centred on two urgent asks: wider access to Starlink, including for strikes inside Russia, and stronger support for Patriot systems. While he repeated the same message to Trump and US lawmakers, there was no firm commitment on either front, even as Ukraine sought to tie its case more closely to wider US concerns over Iran and drone warfare.

With PTI Inputs

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