According to them, this issue was raised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with Trump at the White House in late July. He specifically asked the American president to speak with SpaceX owner Elon Musk to allow Ukrainian drones to use satellite internet for strikes on Russian military targets. The discussion mainly revolved around the possibility of attacking infrastructure for launching ballistic missiles up to 200 km from Ukraine's borders. However, Trump did not make any commitments on this issue, FT's sources noted. They added that Musk is also unlikely to agree to Kyiv's request. Previously, the billionaire did not allow Ukraine to use Starlink for strikes deep into Russia due to concerns about nuclear escalation. In Kyiv, it was believed that limiting the range of attacks could change his decision. With drones equipped with satellite internet, Ukraine would have the ability to strike more precisely at Russian military targets and reduce the number of missile attacks, which have become a problem due to a lack of interceptors for the Patriot air defense systems, FT points out. Sources from The Atlantic previously reported that Ukraine wants to use Starlink for strikes on Russian territory. According to them, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov had approached Musk on this issue, having arranged earlier this year for the billionaire to block Starlink for the Russian army. However, "there is no positive decision," sources told The Atlantic, adding that Musk insists on the need for a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow. Previously, the billionaire stated in an interview with The Economist that Russia would not withdraw its troops from Ukraine, and the war could only be stopped after concessions to Moscow. Meanwhile, the shortage of missiles for Patriot has left Ukraine virtually defenseless against Russian ballistic strikes. Against this backdrop, Kyiv has stopped publishing data on the number of missiles launched by Russian military forces, The Moscow Times reports.
