Fedorov's Starlink Negotiations with Musk: Inside the Push to Target Russian Missile Launchers

Fedorov is pursuing these talks as a private individual after his dismissal on July 15, 2026, not in an official government capacity . President Zelenskyy separately raised the matter with U.S. President Donald Trump during a July 2026 Washington meeting, asking Trump to speak with Musk about expanding Starlink coverage over Russia to target missile launch sites . Trump was reportedly noncommittal .

The February 2026 Precedent: Deactivating Russian Starlink Terminals

This current negotiation effort builds directly on Fedorov's earlier success. In February 2026, Fedorov (then still defense minister) persuaded Musk to deactivate Starlink terminals that Russian forces had been using to guide Shahed-type attack drones against Ukraine . Fedorov said he contacted Musk after evidence emerged of Russian misuse, warning: "We understood that if we did not disable Starlink for the Russians now, it would become our problem" .

SpaceX disabled all Starlink terminals in Ukrainian territory (including those used by Russia), then reactivated only verified Ukrainian terminals via daily-updated "white lists" . Russian officials acknowledged the terminals were down for two weeks starting in early February 2026 . The Pentagon later credited the Starlink cutoff with helping Ukraine regain roughly 400 km² of territory in a counteroffensive .

Dismissal as Defense Minister — July 15, 2026

Fedorov was dismissed by President Zelenskyy on July 15, 2026, as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle, after only six months in the role . The firing was unexpected and triggered widespread public protests in Kyiv and other cities . Fedorov later said the main reason for his ouster was his push to overhaul the military's procurement system . He rejected Zelenskyy's subsequent offer to rejoin the government in a different role . Despite leaving office, Fedorov has continued his Starlink communications with Musk, indicating he views the satellite access issue as a personal strategic priority rather than an official portfolio .

Ballistic Missile Test — July 14, 2026

On the day of the government's dismissal, Fedorov disclosed that Ukraine had successfully test-launched a domestically developed ballistic missile . He described the milestone while summarizing his tenure, saying: "Our ballistic missile. Symbolically, on the day the government was dismissed, we successfully tested a Ukrainian ballistic missile" . The missile type was not disclosed, but Ukrainian defense media speculated it may be related to the long-running Sapsan (Grom-2) operational-tactical missile program . Fedorov noted that the project was developed under the Ministry of Defence's responsibility, with technical specifications revised, accuracy maximized, and production cost reduced by 30% .