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The Trump administration\u2019s top diplomat joined DOGE chief Elon Musk in picking a fight with Poland\u2019s foreign minister on Sunday as the three squabbled over Musk\u2019s Starlink system and its use in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s three-way exchange was just the latest example of American foreign relations turning into a blame game as Marco Rubio, the secretary of State, reiterated the White House\u2019s position that Europe was insufficient with its praise and gratitude after three years of US support for Ukraine\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n
Poland\u2019s foreign minister, Rados\u0142aw Sikorski, responded to the Tesla and X\/Twitter CEO on social media after Musk barked back at a self-identified MAGA fan who rebuked him and Donald Trump for not treating Russia as the aggressor in the conflict. Musk\u2019s tweet highlighted that his Starlink satellite program was crucial to Ukraine\u2019s defense, and in doing so speculated about the consequences of him turning it off.<\/p>\n
He tweeted: \u201cI 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 inevitably lose. Anyone who really cares, really thinks and really understands wants the meat grinder to stop. PEACE NOW!!\u201d<\/p>\n
Rados\u0142aw Sikorski was instructed to \u2018say thank you\u2019 by Marco Rubio (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)Sikorski responded, apparently to the concept of Starlink being turned off, writing that Poland\u2019s government was paying $50m a year for it and warning that Poland would seek another provider \u201cif SpaceX proves to be an unreliable\u201d partner.<\/p>\n
He wrote: \u201cStarlinks 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
That set off Musk. He responded with an insult, calling Sikorski \u201csmall man\u201d, and argued that no other telecom provider could match Starlink\u2019s capabilities.<\/p>\n
He wrote: \u201cBe quiet, small man. You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also triggered a response from Rubio, formerly a vocal supporter of Ukraine\u2019s resistance against the Russian invasion. In 2022, he called on the Biden administration to publicly state that the US would support Ukraine\u2019s government \u201cas long as they are willing to fight, even if it\u2019s only an insurgency,\u201d during an interview with NBC\u2019s Andrea Mitchell.<\/p>\n
Rubio\u2019s presence at the Oval Office blowup between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was picked apart on social media, as his critics noted the secretary appeared uncomfortable and remained quiet through the entire combative exchange.<\/p>\n
The secretary wrote in a tweet on Sunday that Sikorski was \u201c[j]ust making things up\u201d by suggesting that Musk was considering ending Starlink\u2019s contracts with the Ukrainian military. \u201cNo one has made any threats about cutting Ukraine off from Starlink,\u201d wrote Rubio, adding: \u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
His latter remark echoed the words of Vance, who\u2019d questioned Zelensky during their confrontation whether the Ukrainian leader had said \u201cthank you\u201d for the continued support of the US government (he had repeatedly done so).<\/p>\n
But Musk assured his followers separately that he would not see Starlink services cut off to Ukraine over a dispute with Poland\u2019s foreign minister.<\/p>\n
Musk later sought to reassure supporters of Ukraine\u2019s struggle to defend itself against the Russian invasion by saying that Starlink would \u2018never turn off its terminals\u2019 (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)\u201cTo be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals. Without Starlink, the Ukrainian lines would collapse, as the Russians can jam all other communications! We would never do such a thing or use it as a bargaining chip,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
His claim about the US using such a service as a \u201cbargaining chip\u201d is rather ill-timed, given that the White House ordered American intelligence agencies to cease real-time cooperation with the Ukrainian military within the past week. In response, Russia has renewed a deadly offensive against Ukrainian defensive positions and civilian centers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington email I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our\u00a0privacy policy The Trump administration\u2019s top diplomat joined DOGE chief Elon Musk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n