Ukraine is seeking permission from Elon Musk to use drones equipped with Starlink to attack ballistic missile launchers up to 200 kilometres inside Russia, the Financial Times reports.
The reason is that Ukraine does not have enough air-defence missiles, according to anonymous sources whom the newspaper says are familiar with the matter.
Ukraine’s request comes as the country struggles to counter increasingly intense Russian missile and drone attacks. Ballistic missiles pose the greatest challenge, as Kyiv lacks Patriot interceptor missiles, the only reliable system Ukraine has for shooting them down.
It therefore appears that attacking the military infrastructure in Russia could be a possible alternative for nipping the missile problem in the bud. But the prospects of obtaining such permission are not particularly good. Trump has already reacted coolly to the request.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has implored US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s other partners to supply more interceptor missiles, but their use in the Middle East, including during the US war against Iran, has exacerbated a global shortage of the American-made missiles.
Musk already allows Ukraine to use Starlink for military purposes domestically. But assisting in attacks on Russia is an entirely different matter. Nor do people who were present in the Oval Office during the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyj in July believe that Musk will consent to anything of the kind.
In 2022, he cut off access for Ukrainian forces during an operation around the occupied Crimean peninsula, saying that he feared it could provoke a nuclear escalation.
The SpaceX owner is unlikely to want to trigger a Third World War.
