Finnish President Alexander Stubb has urged SpaceX owner Elon Musk to expand Starlink coverage into parts of Russia, saying it could help Ukraine locate and strike Russian ballistic missile launchers.Stubb said he had appealed directly to Musk to allow Starlink to work in areas where Russian missile launchers are based, including occupied Ukrainian territory and parts of Russia. He argued that such access could help Ukraine hit the launchers before they fire missiles at Ukrainian targets.“That’s why … I plead that Elon Musk would give the Ukrainians the possibility to use Starlink in areas where there are ballistic missile launchers, either in the occupied territory of Ukraine or in Russia for strategic purposes because that would save lives,” Stubb said.
Ukraine faces a tough winter
Stubb’s appeal comes as Ukraine prepares for another winter of Russian attacks and faces a shortage of air defence systems.Russian ballistic missile strikes reached record levels this summer, putting further pressure on Ukraine’s already limited air defence resources. Patriot systems are currently the only Ukrainian air defences capable of intercepting such missiles, but Kyiv’s stocks of interceptor missiles are severely depleted.Ukrainian officials believe extending Starlink coverage into Russia could help their forces target mobile ballistic missile launchers located several hundred kilometres from the border.Musk activated Starlink over Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The satellite internet service has since become vital to Ukraine’s battlefield communications and is also used to operate drones.Starlink, however, does not currently operate over Russian territory.
Zelenskyy pushes for ceasefires
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been using the UN gathering in New York to push for ceasefires covering attacks on energy infrastructure and vessels in the Black Sea. Russia has given no public indication that it is ready to accept such arrangements.Stubb said Ukraine needed three things ahead of winter, air defences, energy infrastructure and financial support.“One is air defenses and even Starlink would be to a certain extent a good air defense there. And the second one is energy installations for the winter.”“The third one is money. So those are the things that we’re working on. We’re working on putting up a winter package because I don’t see the war ending, you know, before the winter.”Stubb also welcomed the restart of US-led peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine, following visits by US envoys to Moscow and Kyiv in August.He said the simplest way forward would be an unconditional ceasefire, followed by negotiations on security guarantees, territory, reconstruction and compensation.“I still think that the easiest solution would be to call an unconditional ceasefire, basically stop the killing, as President Trump reiterated in his speech in the UN General Assembly,” he said.Stubb said another possibility would be to freeze the fighting along the current line of contact and establish 30-km buffer zones on both sides. If that proves impossible, he said a more limited ceasefire covering energy and grain-related targets could be considered.
