Zelensky says Trump accused him of misleading him over Musk, Starlink plan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that President Donald Trump accused him of deception regarding negotiations with Elon Musk over the military use of Starlink against Russian forces, highlighting a fresh strain in diplomatic relations between the two leaders.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment via email.
Ukrainian forces depend heavily on Starlink terminals to maintain battlefield internet communications and pilot their extensive drone fleets. In recent months, Kyiv has intensified its long-range drone strike campaign, targeting Russian oil infrastructure and warehouses like Wildberries, the country’s biggest online retailer, to bring the impact of the war closer to the Russian capital.
Dispute Over Starlink Access and U.S. Communications
According to Ukrainian media reports, Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian defense ministry informed him earlier this year that Musk’s SpaceX had conditionally agreed to permit Starlink usage over Russian territory for long-range operations, pending approval. Zelensky said he subsequently spoke with Trump to relay that Musk had provided a provisional green light.
However, Zelensky noted that Trump later claimed in a separate meeting that Musk had refused permission for such operations, leading the U.S. president to accuse the Ukrainian leader of misleading him.
“He said that I had supposedly deceived him because Musk had denied Ukraine the use of Starlink on Russian territory. I went back to our Ministry of Defense, and they said that maybe it was so,” Zelensky said.
He made the remarks during a two-hour off-the-record meeting with reporters on Saturday, with a transcript released publicly on Sunday.
Political Fallout and Leadership Shakeup
The remarks arrive amid heightened friction involving Zelensky and former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whose departure last month after a brief tenure triggered nationwide protests. Fedorov declined an invitation to rejoin the government and recently called for presidential elections—which are constitutionally suspended under martial law—representing one of the most prominent internal challenges to Zelensky’s administration since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country began in February 2022.
While Zelensky did not explicitly accuse Fedorov of lying, he indicated that the miscommunication with the White House over Starlink was among the reasons behind “some of the steps.”
The Ukrainian leader said Kyiv was still in talks with the U.S. about the potential use of Starlink over Russia.
Technical Hurdles and Frontline Dynamics
The Financial Times reported Friday that Ukraine has sought authorization to deploy Starlink-equipped drones against Russian ballistic missile launchers located up to 200 kilometers (approximately 124 miles) inside Russia, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
When Fedorov confirmed his resignation in July, he highlighted the restriction of Russian Starlink access as a key operational achievement of his tenure, noting it degraded Moscow’s drone capabilities. While SpaceX maintains that it does not sell Starlink services to Russian forces, Ukrainian military intelligence reported widespread, “systemic” adoption of the terminals by Russian troops by early 2024. However, Russia’s influential community of military bloggers said in early 2025 Russian troops had started losing access to Starlink in some areas.
Fedorov, who initially appealed to Musk for Starlink terminals in the beginning days of the conflict—prompting Musk’s swift activation of the service across Ukraine—is scheduled to travel to the United States and although no meeting is confirmed, may meet with Musk, Reuters reported on Friday, citing an unnamed source.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Daniel Orton and Anthony Murray.
