President Volodymyr Zelensky has awarded SpaceX and Tesla chief Elon Musk Ukraine’s Order of Freedom for his contributions to protecting human life and freedom and strengthening relations between Ukraine and the United States.
The award, announced in Presidential Decree No. 835/2026, dated Aug. 26, identifies Musk as an entrepreneur, engineer, and head of SpaceX and Tesla.
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The Order of Freedom is a Ukrainian state award recognizing outstanding and special contributions to establishing Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence, developing democracy and defending constitutional rights and freedoms. It can be awarded to both Ukrainian citizens and foreigners.
Musk has played a significant role in Ukraine’s wartime communications through SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. At the same time, his relationship with Kyiv has been complicated by disputes over Ukraine’s use of Starlink in military operations. The Atlantic recently reported that Musk was refusing to allow Ukraine to use Starlink for strikes against Russian territory.
Lacking Patriot missiles to defend its civilian population from Russian ballistic attacks, Ukraine has increasingly relied on targeting economic and manufacturing centers for Russia’s war machine within Russia.
