Poland announced on Saturday that it has been covering the costs of Ukraine’s Starlink subscription and will keep doing so, even though some sources suggest that the United States might consider limiting Ukraine’s access to the satellite internet service.
U.S. negotiators are urging Kyiv to provide access to Ukraine’s critical minerals and have raised the possibility of cutting off the country’s access to Elon Musk’s essential Starlink satellite internet system, as reported by sources familiar with the situation to Reuters.
Starlink plays a vital role in providing internet connectivity to the war-affected nation and its armed forces.
“We are responsible for the subscription fee and will keep paying for satellite internet for Ukraine,” said Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski in a post on Musk-controlled social media platform X.
“I can’t fathom how anyone could decide to terminate a business agreement for a commercial service in which Poland is involved,” Gawkowski added, who also serves as Poland’s digital affairs minister.
SpaceX, the company behind Starlink, did not promptly reply to an email inquiry for comment.
Ukrainian military officials also did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Poland has supplied Ukraine with 20,000 Starlink units and has been financing their upkeep to ensure internet connectivity, according to details from the Polish presidency’s website.
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President Andrzej Duda is set to meet Donald Trump later on Saturday during a trip to the United States, as tensions grow between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, raising concerns among Kyiv’s European allies.
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