Tesla and SpaceX CEO insists he will not cut Ukraine’s access to internet service despite his disagreements with Kyiv.
Published On 10 Mar 2025
Tech billionaire Elon Musk and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio have traded barbs with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski over the use of Musk’s Starlink internet service in Ukraine.
During the tense exchange on X on Sunday, Sikorski suggested that Poland, which pays Ukraine’s Starlink costs to help it repel Russia’s invasion, might have to seek alternative suppliers if Musk’s satellite network proves to be an “unreliable provider”.
Sikorski made the comments after Musk, one of US President Donald Trump’s most influential allies, said the Ukrainian army’s “entire front line would collapse” without Starlink.
“I literally challenged Putin to one on one physical combat over Ukraine and my Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off,” Musk said in response to an X user who accused him of not treating Russia as the aggressor and only criticising Ukraine.
“What I am sickened by is years of slaughter in a stalemate that Ukraine will inevitably lose.”
Starlinks for Ukraine are paid for by the Polish Digitization Ministry at the cost of about $50 million per year.
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. https://t.co/WaJWCklgPE— Radosław Sikorski 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) March 9, 2025
Rubio came to Musk’s defence following Sikorski’s post, accusing the Polish politician of “making things up”.
“No one has made any threats about cutting Ukraine off from Starlink,” Rubio said.
“And 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.”
‘Starlink will never turn off its terminals’
Musk later lashed out at Sikorski himself, posting: “Be quiet, small man. You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink.”
Last month, the Reuters news agency, citing three unnamed sources, reported that US negotiators had raised the possibi