Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has conferred the Order of Freedom, one of Ukraine's highest state honours, on tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. The decree, published on the presidential website on Wednesday, recognises Musk's "outstanding personal merits in protecting human life and freedom" and his contribution to strengthening ties between Ukraine and the United States.
The award marks a striking turn in a relationship that has been anything but smooth. Since SpaceX's Starlink satellite service became a lifeline for Ukraine in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion, Musk has repeatedly clashed with Kyiv over how the technology should be used, questioned Ukraine's military strategy, and criticised Zelenskyy personally. Yet the honour underscores how indispensable Starlink has become to Ukraine's war effort—and how much Kyiv still depends on the goodwill of its founder.
A critical intervention against Russian drone use
The immediate catalyst for the award appears to be a recent episode in which Musk and SpaceX worked with Ukrainian officials to block Russia's unauthorised use of Starlink terminals. According to Ukrainian officials, Russian forces had increasingly mounted the terminals on attack drones, giving operators a resilient connection that allowed the unmanned aerial vehicles to fly at low altitude, resist electronic warfare, and be controlled over longer distances. Kyiv appealed directly to SpaceX in February, and Musk responded publicly to then-Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov as engineers from both sides worked on countermeasures.
The intervention highlighted the extraordinary role that Musk and his companies have come to play in a conflict where satellite communications are deeply integrated into military operations. Starlink has been crucial to Ukraine since the first days of the invasion, providing communications for civilians, government institutions, and the military after conventional networks were damaged or destroyed. Musk activated the service over Ukraine in February 2022 after an appeal from Fedorov, and tens of thousands of terminals have since become central to battlefield communications and, increasingly, to the operation of drones.
A turbulent history of restrictions and criticism
Despite this early support, disagreements soon emerged over how far Starlink should be used in offensive operations. Musk has repeatedly argued that the service was intended for communications rather than long-range attacks, and has warned that its use in strikes on Russian targets could escalate the war. His restrictions had direct consequences on the battlefield. A 2025 media investigation found that Musk ordered Starlink coverage shut down in parts of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory during Kyiv's 2022 counteroffensive, disrupting Ukrainian military operations. In another controversy, Musk rejected a Ukrainian request to activate Starlink around Sevastopol for operations against Russia's Black Sea Fleet, saying he feared SpaceX would otherwise become "explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation."
The disagreements later became increasingly political. Musk has repeatedly questioned continued Western support for Ukraine and argued that Kyiv should seek a negotiated end to the war. He has also criticised Zelenskyy directly and backed calls for Ukraine to hold elections despite martial law, under which national elections have been suspended since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The issue became particularly explosive after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House and began pressing Kyiv over elections while seeking to negotiate an end to the war with Moscow.
Starlink remains irreplaceable for Ukraine
Despite the friction, Kyiv has continued to work closely with SpaceX. Starlink remains deeply embedded—and irreplaceable—in Ukraine's military communications, while its integration into drones has given Ukrainian forces a more resilient means of controlling unmanned systems in areas where conventional radio links are vulnerable to Russian electronic warfare. The technology has become particularly important for strikes in Russian-occupied Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have increasingly used drones to attack logistics routes, command positions, and other military targets far behind the front line.
Ukraine is now seeking Musk's approval to extend the use of Starlink-equipped drones for strikes deep into Russia's territory. Kyiv believes the technology could allow its forces to hit mobile Russian and North Korean ballistic-missile launchers when they move into firing positions, potentially giving Ukraine another means of countering one of the most difficult threats facing its air defences. The award of the Order of Freedom may be seen as an attempt to smooth the path for such cooperation, even as Musk's public criticism of Zelenskyy continues.
The honour also comes at a delicate moment for Ukraine's relations with its Western allies. As European leaders have rallied in Kyiv to show solidarity, the question of how to fund and equip Ukraine's defence remains pressing. The EU's loan package and discussions over arms procurement rules are part of a broader effort to sustain Ukraine's war effort. In this context, keeping Musk onside may be as much a strategic necessity as a gesture of gratitude.
