Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has supported Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski after a heated exchange of comments between him, American billionaire Elon Musk and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Polish news agency PAP reported, BTA reports.
The disagreements began after Musk stated on his “X“ platform that Ukrainian defense depends on his “Starlink“ satellite service, stressing that the entire front line would collapse if he turned it off.
To this, Sikorski replied that “Starlink“ for Ukraine is paid by the Polish Ministry of Digitalization for about $50 million per year.
“Apart from the ethics of threatening a victim of aggression, if 'SpaceX' turns out to be an unreliable supplier, we will be forced to look for other solutions“, he added.
In subsequent publications, Musk assured that he would never stop the service for Ukraine, but directly attacked Sikorski with the words:
“Shut up, little man. You pay a small part of the costs. And there is no replacement for 'Starlink'.“
The Polish minister also received criticism from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who accused him of spreading false information.
He stated that no one had threatened Ukraine with the exclusion of “Starlink“, adding:
“And say 'Thank you', because without 'Starlink' Ukraine would have lost this war a long time ago and the Russians would be on the border with Poland right now.“
Donald Tusk also joined the debate, writing in “X“:
“True leadership means respect for partners and allies. Even for smaller and weaker ones. It has never meant arrogance. Dear friends, think about this.“
Meanwhile, a European Commission spokesperson said that the EU has its own satellite capacity that could be used if necessary, but for now this is not necessary.
The Trump administration has already stopped military aid to Ukraine and suspended intelligence sharing with Kiev.