Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded Elon Musk the Order of Freedom, one of Ukraine's highest state honors reserved for strategic partners. The award recognizes the SpaceX owner's role in supporting Ukraine.
The honor comes as Kyiv seeks to expand the use of Starlink terminals, which provide essential battlefield communications for Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian officials are lobbying the world's richest man to allow the mobile internet system to be used for drone strikes inside Russia.
Zelenskyy bestowed the honor despite years of criticism from the South Africa-born tech mogul. Musk has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian president and questioned Kyiv's strategy.