Ukraine Awards Musk Medal for Starlink Support in Drone Operations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded a medal to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on the 26th (local time).

In a presidential decree published that day, President Zelenskyy stated, "We confer the Order of Freedom upon Musk, an American businessman, engineer, and head of SpaceX and Tesla."

President Zelenskyy commended Musk for his "outstanding personal contribution to defending human lives and freedom, and to fostering relations between the peoples of Ukraine and the United States."

The Order of Freedom, established by the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada), is conferred by presidential decree.

While leaders from countries such as the UK, France, Italy, Canada, Argentina, Poland, Finland, and Denmark who took the lead in supporting Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February 2022 have received this medal, it is unusual for a foreign business leader to receive it.

Starlink, the satellite internet network operated by Musk's SpaceX, has significantly helped Ukrainian forces on the frontline access the internet and operate equipment such as drones.

In particular, early this year, at Ukraine's request, SpaceX blocked unauthorized access to Starlink by Russian forces, which influenced the war situation to shift somewhat more favorably for the Ukrainian military.

Behind President Zelenskyy's decision to name Musk as a recipient appears to be the necessity of expanding the use of Starlink to broaden the offensive against Russia.

According to reports by the Associated Press and other media, President Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House last month and requested that Starlink be allowed to be used within Russian territory.

Musk currently permits Ukraine to use Starlink within its own territory and former Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia, but restricts its use within Russian territory due to concerns such as escalating conflict.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.