Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials to help Ukraine obtain permission from Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system for guiding strikes inside Russian territory.

The request comes as Zelenskyy explores alternative ways to compensate for a growing shortage of U.S. Patriot air defense interceptors needed to counter the relentless barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks. Those interceptors are in increasingly short supply as the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran continues. Trump on Friday also appeared to step back from a recent pledge to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture the Patriot system domestically.

Zelenskyy raised the Starlink request directly with Trump during an Oval Office meeting this week, according to a person familiar with the matter. He later told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that he wanted Starlink to assist with targeting inside Russia, according to a person present in the room. Both individuals spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive private discussions. Trump did not commit to the request.

Musk has permitted Ukraine to use Starlink within its own borders, including Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, but has restricted operation of the satellite system inside Russia itself. The issue of Starlink access has previously surfaced as a flashpoint in the conflict: in 2023, Musk confirmed he had declined a Ukrainian request to activate Starlink coverage near Crimea during a planned drone strike on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, drawing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over the role of a private individual in wartime operational decisions.

Zelenskyy has been pressing U.S. officials on the expanded Starlink use for at least several weeks. The White House, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, and SpaceX — which owns Starlink — did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Zelenskyy's efforts to secure Musk's permission for using Starlink in Ukrainian strikes inside Russia were first reported by The Atlantic.

Expanding Starlink access could carry risks for Musk. The Associated Press reported in December that two NATO-member intelligence services suspect Russia is developing a new anti-satellite weapon designed to target the Starlink constellation with destructive orbiting clouds of shrapnel. The intelligence findings were shared with the AP on the condition that the originating services not be identified, and the news organization could not independently verify the conclusions.

According to those findings, Russia regards Starlink as a grave threat. The thousands of low-orbiting satellites have been critical to Ukraine's resilience since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, enabling battlefield communications, drone coordination, and command-and-control links that Ukrainian forces rely on across the front lines.

Zelenskyy had traveled to Washington to attend a memorial service for Sen. Lindsey Graham and used the visit to meet with Trump and allies on Capitol Hill. Following his White House meeting earlier in the day, Zelenskyy visited the Capitol, where senators said his requests mirrored those he made in July during a meeting at the NATO summit in Turkey.

"They need access to Starlink long term to make their longer-range and intermediate-range systems more accurate," said Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee. "They prefer to be exactly on target, as opposed to, in the general area. He made that pretty clear."

Zelenskyy spoke with lawmakers late Tuesday evening ahead of a Senate vote on a sweeping new Russia sanctions package, which advanced toward a final vote expected next week.

Zelenskyy also reiterated Ukraine's need for additional U.S. Patriot systems and the previously discussed licensing agreement that would allow Ukraine to produce the system domestically, Rounds said. Rounds was part of the U.S. congressional delegation at the NATO conference in Ankara.

"There was a consistency from what President Zelenskyy shared with us in Turkey two weeks ago to what he shared with us again once again, in terms of what their needs are," Rounds said. "It's pretty straightforward."

However, Trump appeared to retreat from the earlier commitment during a Cabinet gathering at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, on Friday. At the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump had declared, "We'll give them the right to make Patriots" to counter missile attacks from Russia in the ongoing conflict.

The president told reporters on Friday that the licensing matter remains under discussion and that no decision has been made.

"We're talking about it. But it's a hard thing to give away that kind of technology," Trump said.

The Patriot system, manufactured by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, is among the most advanced air defense platforms in the U.S. arsenal and has been operated by more than a dozen allied nations. A domestic Ukrainian production license would mark an unusual transfer of closely held missile technology and would require congressional notification under U.S. arms export rules.

Trump's relationship with Zelenskyy has improved as Ukraine has gained ground on the battlefield against Russia in recent months. Zelenskyy has also sought to frame his country's war with Russia as connected to the U.S. and Israeli conflict with Iran.

U.S. intelligence has established that Tehran supplied Russia with drones for use against Ukraine. More recently, Russia has prepared to ship drones to Iran, including upgraded versions of the technology that Tehran originally provided to Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine, according to U.S. and European officials.

Ahead of his Washington visit, Zelenskyy said he would share evidence with the United States showing that Russia is assisting Iran in targeting U.S. bases in the Middle East through satellite surveillance.

Zelenskyy has also argued to the Trump administration that Ukraine is well positioned to help the U.S. counter Iranian drone attacks on American bases in the Middle East and on Gulf allies' infrastructure.

"He has been very emphatic they are going to provide more aid to us in unmanned warfare, aerial unmanned warfare, which has been so instrumental in Iran — his people have been there, they've been providing technology and know-how — and they're ready, willing and able to do it in even greater magnitude," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who sits on the Armed Services Committee. "He was very emphatic on that point."