Rubio And Musk Clash With Polish Foreign Minister Over Starlink In Ukraine: ‘Say Thank You’

This long-exposure image shows a trail of a group of SpaceX’s Starlink G6-27 satellites passing over Uruguay

Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed with Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, calling him ungrateful for Elon Musk’s Starlink aid after Sikorski suggested Ukraine might need an alternative.

The exchange occurred through a series of X posts on Sunday, which began after Musk was accused of “only criticizing Ukraine but not Putin.”

Musk responded by writing “my Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off. What I am sickened by is years of slaughter in a stalemate that Ukraine will inevitably lose. Anyone who really cares, really thinks and really understands wants the meat grinder to stop. PEACE NOW!!!”

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.

What I am sickened by is years of slaughter in a stalemate that Ukraine will…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 9, 2025

Following Musk’s post, Sikorski jumped in, accusing Musk of threatening to pull Starlink from Ukrainian forces.

“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,” he wrote.

Rubio stepped into the conversation following Sikorski’s post, accusing him of “Just making things up.”

“No one has made any threats about cutting Ukraine off from Starlink. 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.”

Just making things up.
No one has made any threats about cutting Ukraine off from Starlink

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 https://t.co/ImeiHFgaaw

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 9, 2025

Meanwhile, the U.S. has decided to halt intelligence sharing with Ukraine in an attempt to pressure Kyiv to negotiate an end to the war, as well as revoking access to certain satellite imagery.

Musk responded to Rubio’s post, adding “What Secretary Rubio says is absolutely correct.”

The public feud with Sikorski, where Musk and Rubio stand united, contrasts with last week’s reports of tension between the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader and the Secretary of State.

President Donald Trump came out on Saturday to denounce the reported rift, writing in a Truth Social post that the two “have a great relationship. Any statement other than that is fake news!!!”

President Trump also spoke about the media attempting to create tension between Musk and Trump himself in a February interview.

“It’s just so obvious. They’re so bad at it. I used to think they were good at it,” Trump stated in February, alongside Musk. “They’re actually bad at it because if they were good at it, I’d never be president because I think nobody in history has ever gotten more bad publicity than me.”

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