Poland and US clash on X over Ukraine’s access to Musk’s Starlink
US billionaire Elon Musk said the Ukrainian front would collapse if his Starlink was turned off
A public spat between Poland’s foreign minister and Elon Musk over Ukraine’s use of the billionaire’s Starlink satellite-internet system escalated on Sunday when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined the fray.
Radoslaw Sikorski suggested Poland, which covers Ukraine’s Starlink costs, might seek other suppliers if Musk were to turn off the services for the war-torn nation. He was responding to comments made by Musk on X that Ukraine’s “entire front line would collapse” if the network was switched off.
The minister added that Poland’s digitisation ministry pays about US$50 million a year for Ukraine’s access to the system.
“The ethics of threatening the victim of aggression apart, if SpaceX proves to be an unreliable provider we will be forced to look for other suppliers,” Sikorski said on X, the social media platform owned by Musk.
Sikorski’s response prompted a retort from Rubio, who said his Polish counterpart was “Just making things up” and that “no-one has made any threats about cutting Ukraine off from Starlink”. Rubio went on to say that Poland should “say thank you because without Starlink Ukraine would have lost this war long ago and Russians would be on the border with Poland right now”.
Rubio’s comments were applauded by Musk, who called the Polish diplomat a “small man”, and told him to “be quiet”. Poland pays “a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink,” Musk wrote.
