US President Donald Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of deceiving him over whether SpaceX founder Elon Musk had approved the use of Starlink satellite internet service inside Russian territory.
Speaking to journalists in comments reported by Ukrainian news agency RBC-Ukraine, Zelenskyy acknowledged the dispute with the American president following discussions on military communications.
Zelenskyy explained that officials at Ukraine's Ministry of Defense had initially told him that Musk had granted authorization for Starlink operations inside Russia, subject only to final coordination at the political level. Zelenskyy subsequently passed that information directly to Trump.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the two heads of state agreed that Washington would hold internal discussions if SpaceX was willing to proceed. However, during a second meeting between the leaders, Trump told Zelenskyy that he had been misled because Musk had explicitly refused to permit Starlink operations within Russian borders.
Zelenskyy said he returned to his defense ministry to recheck the situation, where officials admitted that Musk's refusal might indeed be accurate.
Disagreement over network access
Despite the refusal, Zelenskyy expressed hope that SpaceX might still alter its decision. Musk has maintained that enabling Starlink for military operations inside Russia would lead to an escalation of the conflict.
Zelenskyy also stated that following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who conveyed the Ukrainian request to Trump, the US president had allegedly agreed to support allowing Starlink access over Russia.
The developments follow earlier reports indicating that several European leaders had sought to persuade Musk to grant Kyiv permission to utilize the Starlink satellite network for strikes across Russia.
Background on Starlink in Ukraine
Starlink, a satellite internet constellation operated by Musk's private aerospace corporation SpaceX, has provided essential communication and command infrastructure for Ukrainian military forces throughout the war. Control over the system's operational geographic boundaries has remained a recurring point of friction between SpaceX leadership, Kyiv, and Western allies.
