**WARSAW**
US billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday branded Poland’s foreign minister a “small man” after he claimed Warsaw would seek an alternative to Ukraine’s Starlink internet services if Musk’s firm proves to be “unreliable.”
On X, Musk replied to Radoslaw Sikorski: "Be quiet, little man. You're paying a tiny fraction of the cost (for Starlink). And there are no substitutes.”
Sikorski earlier Sunday wrote on X: "Starlink for Ukraine is paid for by the Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs at a cost of about $50 million per year. Leaving aside the ethics of threatening the victim of aggression, if SpaceX turns out to be an unreliable supplier, we will be forced to look for other suppliers.”
Since the US suspended military aid for Ukraine last week, questions have arisen if Musk would cut Kyiv off from the Starlink service. Starlink provides vital internet connectivity to Ukraine’s military. US negotiators have pressed Kyiv for access to Ukraine’s minerals and raised the possibility of cutting the country’s access to the service in February. The US government has already revoked some access to satellite imagery for Ukraine and paused intelligence sharing.
Musk wrote on X on Sunday that Ukraine’s “entire frontline would collapse if I turned it (Starlink) off … I am sickened by … years of slaughter in a stalemate that Ukraine will inevitably lose.”
Talks between Eutelsat and the EU are reportedly intensifying, and the Franco-British satellite operator could eventually replace the network of American communication terminals in Ukraine. Shares in Eutelsat soared 650% during the week ending March 7.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shot back at Sikorski, accusing him of "making things up."
"Nobody threatened to cut Ukraine off from Starlink. And say thank you, without Starlink, Ukraine would have lost this war a long time ago, and the Russians would now be on the border with Poland," wrote Rubio.
On Feb. 22, in response to such speculation, Polish Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski wrote on X: "Poland bought Starlink, which it gave to Ukraine. We pay and will continue to pay for a satellite internet subscription for Ukraine. I cannot imagine that someone could decide to terminate a business agreement for a commercial service to which Poland is a party."
Musk, a major ally of US President Donald Trump, had been accused of interfering in European politics and elections, and furthering Trump’s animus towards Ukraine.
Despite being a businessman with no background in government service, in recent years Musk has emerged as a major political player, leveraging his global X megaphone to seek to shape political debate and even endorse candidates some call extreme.
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