Kyiv [Ukraine], March 10 : US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and billionaire Elon Musk sharply responded to Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, dismissing Sikorski's concerns about Starlink being cut off in the future, and urging him to be thankful for the assistance thus far, The Kyiv Independent reported.
Sikorski stated on Sunday that Poland will look for alternative suppliers if SpaceX turns out to be an unreliable provider of Starlink satellite internet for Ukraine, as per The Kyiv Independent.
Rubio responded and claimed that Sikorski was "just making things up."
"No one has made any threats about cutting Ukraine off from Starlink," Rubio said. "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."
Musk, too, responded, claiming that Poland only pays a "small fraction" of the cost for Ukraine's Starlink access, even though Poland provides half of the total of Ukraine's 42,000 terminals, at about USD 50 million per year, according to Sikorski, as per The Kyiv Independent.
"Be quiet, small man. You pay a tiny fraction of the cost," Musk said. "And there is no substitute for Starlink."
Earlier in the day, Musk claimed that the entire front line in Ukraine would collapse if he shut off Starlink services.
Both Musk and Rubio have made remarks against Ukrainian officials and Kyiv's position in recent weeks. On March 5, Rubio said that Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine is a "proxy war" between Russia and the US, The Kyiv Independent reported.
He then blamed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for "undermining" Trump's plan in the peace negotiations thus far, following the heated exchange that took place at the White House in late February.
Musk has also made similar statements, and he has amplified Russian disinformation, criticizing Zelenskyy's position frequently, and calling for "immediate peace," while refraining from criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting the full-scale invasion.
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