Fedorov may have publicly exaggerated his influence over Musk, says political analyst Oleshchuk

He made these remarks in a comment to “Shelter” for the article “A ‘Zelensky-Style’ Move”: What’s Behind the Decision to Award Musk the Order of Freedom and Who Has Received It Before.”

Oleshchuk speculated on whether Fyodorov might have been involved in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decision to award Musk the Order of Freedom.

The political analyst recalled the president’s statement that Fyodorov had misinformed him about the progress of negotiations regarding granting Ukraine permission to use Starlink to strike Russian installations.

“So this issue is quite complicated. But I think that perhaps Fedorov somewhat exaggerated his influence over Musk in public. And it’s also possible, you know, that this is an element of mutual political struggle,” Oleshchuk believes.

On August 21, the British publication Financial Times, citing sources, reported that Ukraine had turned to Elon Musk for support, to obtain permission to use drones with Starlink to strike Russian ballistic missile launchers at a distance of up to 200 km from the border.

Subsequently, Zelenskyy stated that disagreements had arisen between him, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Musk over agreements regarding the possible use of Starlink on Russian territory for Ukrainian defense purposes.

According to him, he received information from the Ministry of Defense that Musk had agreed to the use of Starlink on Russian territory, but it later turned out that the American businessman had not given his consent.