Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pitched President Donald Trump and other American officials on helping Ukraine win permission from tech titan Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.
Zelenskyy made the request directly to Trump during an Oval Office meeting this week, part of a whirlwind Washington visit, according to one person familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity. He also told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that he wanted Starlink to help with targeting inside Russia, according to a second person in the room. Trump did not commit to the request.
The supply-chain squeeze behind the ask
The push for expanded Starlink access comes as Zelenskyy looks for alternate ways to offset a shortage of U.S. Patriot air-defense interceptors. Supply has tightened as the U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran continues, and Trump on Friday appeared to edge away from a recent commitment to license Ukraine to produce Patriots domestically — a pledge he had made at the NATO summit in Turkey.
At Camp David, Trump told reporters the licensing matter 'remains under discussion' and said he has not made a decision. 'We're talking about it,' the president said.
Musk has allowed Ukraine to use Starlink within its own territory, including in Ukrainian regions occupied by Russian forces, but has restricted use of the system inside Russia itself.
What senators heard
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who attended the NATO conference in Ankara, summarized Zelenskyy's case plainly: 'They need access to Starlink long term to make their longer-range and intermediate-range systems more accurate. They prefer to be exactly on target, as opposed to, in the general area.'
Rounds noted the consistency of the Ukrainian president's requests: '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.'
Zelenskyy spoke with lawmakers Tuesday evening ahead of a Senate vote on a new Russia sanctions package, which advanced toward a final vote expected next week.
The risk to Musk
Granting expanded Starlink permissions would not be cost-free for Musk. The Associated Press reported in December that two NATO-nation intelligence services suspect Russia is developing a new anti-satellite weapon designed to target the Starlink constellation with destructive orbiting clouds of shrapnel. The intelligence findings were shown to the AP on condition the services not be identified, and the AP was not able to independently verify the conclusions. Russia views Starlink as a grave threat, the findings indicate.
The thousands of low-orbiting satellites have been pivotal for Ukraine's defense since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
CEO Times take
The numbers here are strategic, not sentimental. Starlink's precision-targeting capability represents exactly the kind of asymmetric, private-sector leverage that changes battlefield math without deploying a single American soldier. The question of whether Musk grants expanded permissions is, at its core, a property-rights and sovereign-risk calculation — one that Moscow is already pricing in by reportedly engineering countermeasures.
For the Trump administration, the calculus is clear: a more accurate Ukrainian military reduces the pressure on scarce Patriot interceptors, protects a supply chain already strained by the Iran campaign, and keeps American boots off foreign soil. Capital — and in this case, orbital infrastructure — rewards clear rules. The White House's silence so far is itself a decision with consequences.
