Stubb made this statement in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the UN leaders’ summit in New York on Thursday. He urged the SpaceX owner to give Ukrainians the ability to use Starlink for strategic purposes in areas where ballistic missile launchers are located, including in occupied Ukrainian territory and in Russia.
Ukrainian authorities believe that such a decision would help the Armed Forces of Ukraine carry out strikes on Russian launchers that fire ballistic missiles before winter. In their assessment, Ukraine lacks enough interceptor missiles to defend against such attacks.
With a similar request in July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to US President Donald Trump. Approval of the initiative requires Musk’s own consent, and he has so far restricted the system’s use on Russian territory.
Kyiv wants to use long-range drones and improved Starlink navigation to hit Russian mobile ballistic missile launchers used for strikes on Ukraine. Denis Shtilerman, co-founder of the Ukrainian company Fire Point, said that Ukraine is already using Starlink to create a strike zone along the front line.
According to Shtilerman, allowing the system to be used in Russia would make it possible to expand such a zone to 500 km, and if necessary — all the way to Siberia. Ukrainian authorities had previously expressed concerns that Moscow plans systematic strikes and the destruction of the country’s electricity and heat supply facilities in the middle of winter.
Stubb also said that Ukraine needs three things: air defense, additional power generators, and money. He added that Starlink would also help to some extent in defending against air attacks, and that a winter package of measures is now being prepared because he sees no signs that the war will end before winter.
Sources
