Ukraine Awards Elon Musk Top State Honor as Zelenskyy Pushes to Expand Starlink Use in War Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded SpaceX owner Elon Musk one of the country’s highest state honors, the Order of Freedom, as Kyiv continues seeking to expand its use of Musk’s Starlink satellite internet terminals amid the ongoing war with Russia, according to a presidential decree published Wednesday.
The decree, published on the Ukrainian presidential website, praised Musk “for outstanding personal contributions to protecting human life and freedom, and for developing relations between the peoples of Ukraine and the United States of America,” according to Reuters. Starlink has played a central role in Ukraine’s military operations since the earliest days of the war.
Musk switched on the satellite internet service over Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, and the system has since become a critical component of Ukraine’s battlefield communications infrastructure, as well as a key tool used for piloting military drones. The relationship between Musk and Ukraine’s government has not been without tension. Earlier this year, Musk agreed to turn off thousands of Russian “grey-market” Starlink terminals operating within Ukraine, a move that created significant operational problems for Russian forces relying on that unauthorized access.
That decision came at the request of Ukraine’s former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was dismissed from his post in July. Ukraine has now formally asked to expand its use of Starlink specifically to cover Russian territory, as Kyiv seeks to strike targets including launchers used to fire ballistic missiles that have caused extensive destruction across Ukrainian cities.
According to Reuters, Zelenskyy said he had been told that Musk initially opposed extending Starlink’s coverage into Russian territory, viewing the move as a “major escalation” of the broader war. However, Zelenskyy indicated the situation may be shifting, saying Ukraine had “started to receive a different, more encouraging feedback” on the request more recently.
Zelenskyy argued that expanding Starlink’s operational coverage into Russian territory could meaningfully reduce capabilities Russia has relied on to prolong the conflict, framing the potential expansion as a significant strategic tool in Ukraine’s broader effort to counter continued Russian missile strikes against its cities and civilian infrastructure.
The awarding of Ukraine’s Order of Freedom to Musk reflects the country’s continued reliance on Starlink as an essential piece of wartime infrastructure, even as the underlying relationship between Musk and Ukrainian officials has periodically shown signs of friction, particularly around questions of how far Musk is willing to go in supporting more escalatory uses of the satellite network.
The honor comes at a moment when Kyiv appears to be actively working to secure Musk’s continued cooperation and goodwill, given how directly Ukraine’s request to expand Starlink coverage into Russian territory depends on Musk’s own willingness to authorize that expanded use. Starlink’s broader significance to Ukraine’s war effort extends beyond battlefield communications and drone operations alone.
The satellite network has provided a resilient communications backbone for large portions of the country that have been repeatedly struck by Russian attacks, maintaining connectivity even as the electrical grid and other traditional infrastructure have been severely damaged. This has helped support not only military operations but also the day-to-day functioning of Ukrainian society during the war.
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