Finnish President Asks Musk to Expand Starlink Coverage for Ukraine's Air Defense

Finnish President Alexander Stubb revealed in an interview with Reuters that he has appealed to SpaceX owner Elon Musk to expand Starlink satellite internet coverage for Ukraine. The goal is to help Ukraine more effectively strike Russian ballistic missile launch sites, both in occupied Ukrainian territory and inside Russia itself.

Stubb noted that as winter approaches, Ukraine faces an acute shortage of air defense capabilities needed to intercept Russian ballistic missiles. Ukrainian officials believe that expanded Starlink coverage would help them pinpoint the locations of Russian missile launchers.

Three priorities for winter

According to Stubb, Ukraine needs three things this winter: air defense systems (with Starlink serving as a partial aid in that regard), support for energy infrastructure, and funding. He said work is currently underway on preparing a winter support package, since he does not expect the war to end before winter sets in.

Stubb also praised the resumption of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by the United States following visits by American envoys to both Moscow and Kyiv. He said the simplest solution would be an unconditional ceasefire, which he said would essentially stop the killing, echoing remarks made by President Trump at the UN General Assembly. He added that such a step would be followed by negotiations on security, territory, reconstruction and compensation.

Previous attempts

In July, President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly asked President Trump at the White House to press Musk to allow Ukraine to use Starlink on Russian territory to strike missile launchers. In August, The Atlantic reported that Musk had so far refused to grant this permission. Over the winter, Musk did help address the issue of Starlink use on Russian strike drones, and in February Starlink terminals in Russia stopped working en masse. In March last year, Musk stated he would never cut off Starlink for Ukraine's military, despite disagreeing with Ukraine's policies.