Zelenskyy awards Elon Musk Ukraine’s ‘Order of Freedom’ despite years of criticism
Zelenskyy awarded Musk one of Ukraine’s highest state honours, despite years of criticism from the South Africa-born tech mogul who has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian president and questioned Kyiv’s strategy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has bestowed the Order of Freedom upon American entrepreneur and SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink founder Elon Musk, recognizing his personal contributions to safeguarding lives and promoting freedom, as well as fostering ties between Ukraine and the United States. According to The Financial Times, Ukraine has been seeking clearance from Musk to employ Starlink-equipped drone strike systems against Russian missile launchers positioned up to 200 kilometers inside Russia, in response to domestic constraints on Patriot interceptor missiles.
During a July meeting with then-U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, Zelenskyy reportedly sought Trump's intervention with Musk on the matter. However, Musk reportedly maintained reservations about permitting Ukraine to utilize Starlink satellite technology for directing strikes against Russian missile launch sites used to attack Kyiv.
Despite this, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's former Defense Minister, continues to engage in ongoing discussions with Musk regarding this possibility. Musk, the world's wealthiest individual and the first trillionaire, is also the CEO of Tesla, the brains behind SpaceX and Neuralink, and the owner of The Boring Company and social media platform X. In 2025, Musk served as a senior advisor to President Trump, leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) before returning to his business ventures following a public disagreement with Trump.
Written by urgent.news from New Voice of Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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