WASHINGTON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pitched President Donald Trump and other American officials on helping Ukraine win permission from tech titan Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia. The push for expanded use of Starlink comes as Zelensky looks for alternate ways to mitigate the need for US Patriot air defense systems to thwart the steady barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine wants to start using Musk’s Starlink to target ballistic-missile launchers inside Russia.

SpaceX currently permits Ukraine to use Starlink only on Ukrainian territory, including Russian-occupied areas such as Crimea, while blocking its use inside Russia.