Polish FM highlights three benefits for Ukraine from Sikorski’s spat with Rubio and Musk

This was stated by Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski in a comment to Ukrinform.

“The most important thing from the point of view of Ukraine is a very strong statement by Secretary Rubio that no one intends to disable Starlink terminals for Ukraine. After all, this was also later confirmed by Elon Musk. Therefore, there will no longer be such forms of pressure and influence on Ukraine as “we're going to cut you off now” or “if you were to be cut off, it would be this or that,” which could be perceived as more or less hidden threats, and this is exactly how Minister Sikorski perceived it,” the spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry emphasized.

Secondly, as Wronski noted, Secretary Rubio acknowledged in his post that Russia's goal from the very beginning was to occupy the whole of Ukraine, and it was not some kind of accidental war. Therefore, Sikorsky agreed with the U.S. Secretary of State that Russia attacked Ukraine, and if Ukraine is occupied, it will be a common defeat, including for the United States.

“We must work together for a just peace. And this is the second positive of this conversation,” the Polish diplomat emphasized.

The third positive aspect, he said, is that the American society has learned from Starlink that not only the United States is helping Ukraine financially, but SpaceX “is not a charity organization.”

“This company is making money on the war in Ukraine, as the operation of these terminals is paid for by the Polish government at the expense of Polish taxpayers,” stated Wronski.

Answering a question about the reaction in Poland to the harsh tone of communication from the American counterparts, the Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that only Secretary Rubio is a partner for Sikorsky in this case. Instead, Musk is a provider of Internet services for which Poland pays, and “one can only debate whether this Internet service provider is friendly or not, polite or rude.”

As reported, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on social media that Starlink terminals for Ukraine and the subscription fee for them are paid by Poland. If SpaceX turns out to be an unreliable supplier, Poland will look for another. Rubio and Musk reacted in an emotional tone, and with elements of insult to Sikorski, assured that no one was going to disconnect Ukraine from Starlink.

Poland has ordered almost 25,000 Starlink terminals for Ukraine. A standard subscription for one terminal costs almost 5.500 UAH per month, and a special subscription costs 14,000  UAH.

Photo: Michal Zebrowski/East News