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Ukraine is seeking approval to use Starlink-equipped drones against ballistic missile launchers up to 200 kilometers inside Russian territory as Kyiv faces a severe shortage of air-defense interceptors, the Financial Times reported on August 21.
The move would require permission from SpaceX owner Elon Musk, whose willingness to allow his satellite internet service to be used for offensive operations has been inconsistent.
Complicating matters is the recent dismissal of former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had served as Kyiv’s primary conduit to the tech billionaire.
The request comes as Ukraine struggles to counter intensifying Russian missile and drone strikes, amid a critical shortage of Patriot interceptors.
With Russian missile and drone production on the rise, Ukraine is seeking ways to adopt a “shooting-the-archer” strategy, aiming to destroy launchers, command systems, and logistics hubs rather than relying on interception, according to the report.
Starlink gives drones a stable, secure connection, which could make cross-border strikes on high-value targets more precise.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised the prospect of using Starlink for these deep-strike missions during a meeting with Donald Trump in July, asking the United States president to lobby Musk on Ukraine’s behalf. According to people present at the meeting, Trump was non-committal and appeared unsupportive of the plan.
Musk has previously supported Ukraine’s use of Starlink for defensive and communication purposes, but he has consistently blocked its use for strikes inside Russia, citing fears of nuclear escalation.
In 2022, Musk restricted access during operations near the Crimean Peninsula to prevent such risks, but he later green lighted such attacks.
Despite the diplomatic push, the entire plan faces steep tactical hurdles. Ukraine has largely failed to target and suppress mobile ballistic and cruise missile launchers, or even drone launch bases—including in Crimea.
Furthermore, recent conflicts highlight the extreme difficulty of such an approach. During the war with Iran, the U.S. and Israel maintained complete aerial supremacy yet still failed to entirely prevent missile and drone launches. Subsequent assessments revealed that initial reports claiming the vast majority of enemy missile launchers had been wiped out were heavily exaggerated.
Given that Russia possesses a sprawling and deeply entrenched military-industrial complex far more capable than that of Iran, Ukraine’s strategic goals appear largely unrealistic.
Ultimately, Kyiv may well be aware that the proposed strategy is unworkable, viewing the proposal instead as a political pressure point designed to provoke broader escalation, prolong the conflict, and secure additional support from its backers in the West.
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