PoliticsAugust 26, 2026 11:46 am • 2 min readElon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., in Washington, D.C., U.S. on March 24, 2025. (Samuel Corum / Sipa / Bloomberg via Getty Images)President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded U.S. billionaire and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Ukraine's Order of Liberty by presidential decree on Aug. 26, as Kyiv seeks his approval to use Starlink on drones operating inside Russia.Zelensky cited Musk's "contributions to the protection of human life and freedom, and the development of relations between the peoples of Ukraine and the U.S." as the reason for the award.The honor comes as Ukraine seeks to expand its use of Starlink-enabled drones against Russian ballistic missile launchers. Kyiv hopes the technology could help disrupt Russia's ability to strike Ukrainian cities.According to Zelensky, providing Ukraine with broader access to Starlink could reduce "precisely those capabilities that Russia is relying on to drag out the war."Musk has remained reluctant to allow Starlink terminals to operate over Russian territory. One person familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent Musk believes it's an "escalation" of the war.Starlink provides high-speed communications between Ukrainian combat positions and command posts. When mounted on drones, the system can provide a difficult-to-jam connection that is not constrained by the limitations of traditional radio antennas.Ukrainian forces have increasingly used Starlink-enabled drones over Russian-occupied territory, particularly at ranges of 50-200 kilometers (30-125 miles) from the front line. The drones have targeted Russian logistics routes in areas where Kyiv has expanded its strike campaign.Ukraine's relationship with Musk has long been closely associated with former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who worked with SpaceX to provide Starlink terminals to the Ukrainian military during the early stages of Russia's full-scale invasion.Fedorov, who was dismissed in mid-July, also initiated talks with Musk over restricting Russian forces' use of Starlink on drones operating in Ukrainian territory.Fedorov warned that Russian access to Starlink could allow Moscow to control drone operations from Russia, alter flight paths beyond the reach of Ukrainian radar and acoustic detection systems, and target Ukrainian F-16s, Patriot systems, and other military assets.In February 2026, SpaceX cut off Russian forces' use of Starlink. Zelensky has credited the decision with contributing to Ukrainian battlefield successes this year.Musk could still reconsider his opposition to allowing Ukraine to use Starlink over Russian territory, Zelensky told reporters on Aug. 22.