Musk takes sharp swing at Polish FM over Starlink claims
3 Min Read
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski claimed that Poland was covering all expenses for Ukraine's use of the Starlink satellite communication system.
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Elon Musk leaves after meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, on March 5, 2025. (AP)
After a heated online exchange with Poland's outspoken foreign minister, billionaire businessman and top White House advisor Elon Musk vowed on Sunday to keep Ukraine's access to his Starlink satellite network intact.
Following a catastrophic meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House on February 28, the United States froze military aid and intelligence cooperation with Ukraine.
This has raised concerns that Musk, a close Trump ally, may cut off Ukrainian access to his private Starlink communications system, which is widely used by Kiev's frontline forces for battlefield communication.
Musk vowed on Sunday, during conversations on his own X social media platform, that this would not be the case, following an online dispute with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, which brought in US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"To be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals," Musk said.
Elon Musk to Polish FM Sikorski:
— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 9, 2025
Be quiet, small man.
You pay a tiny fraction of the cost.
And there is no substitute for Starlink. pic.twitter.com/CiqsmscC4f
"I am simply stating that, without Starlink, the Ukrainian lines would collapse, as the Russians can jam all other communications! We would never do such a thing or use it as a bargaining chip."
Trump's administration is urging Zelensky to turn over most of Ukraine's natural riches to the US and to commit to a ceasefire with Russia without strong security assurances as a precondition for a peace accord.
Musk agrees with this perception and warned on Sunday that if he switched off Starlink for Kiev's soldiers, the "entire front line would collapse."
This caused Sikorski, in a post on X, to warn: "Starlinks for Ukraine are paid for by the Polish Digitization Ministry at the cost of about $50 million per year," adding, "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."
Musk answered with derision, telling the Polish minister, "Be quiet, small man. You pay only a fraction of the expense. There is no substitute for Starlink."
On his end, Rubio accused Sikorski of "just making things up," asserting that he 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."
