According to the publication, Elon Musk discussed this issue with former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Musk made it clear to the Ukrainian side that the decision to use Starlink for such operations is political in nature, and therefore it must be made by the White House, sources told the Financial Times. The newspaper reminds that U.S. President Donald Trump has not yet given consent for such use of the system. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to Musk with a request to allow the use of drones equipped with Starlink to strike at ballistic missile launchers on Russian territory — at a distance of up to 200 kilometers from the Ukrainian-Russian border. According to Fedorov, such an opportunity could play an important role in protecting Ukrainian cities from Russian missile strikes. In an interview with the Financial Times, Fedorov declined to comment on the content of his negotiations with Musk. He also did not comment on the information from the publication's sources that the billionaire allegedly expressed readiness to allow Kyiv to use Starlink for long-range strikes on Russian territory. The former Ukrainian defense minister also did not answer the question of whether he plans to meet with Musk. Fedorov only stated that he continues to maintain contact with him. Thus, there is currently no decision made: according to the Financial Times, Musk is ready to provide such an opportunity, but believes that permission to use Starlink for strikes on Russian territory should come from the American authorities. At this moment, U.S. President Donald Trump has not given such consent.
