On Sunday, Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio put on a united front as they confronted a Polish official who suggested Ukraine may need to find an alternative to Musk’s Starlink satellite company for communications assistance in its war against Russia.
The New York Times recently reported Musk and Rubio clashed over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort that Musk is overseeing, but there were no signs of animosity between them on Sunday as they teamed up against Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, when he took aim at Starlink.
In a post on X, Musk advocated for sanctions against Ukrainian oligarchs as a means to end the war, underscoring concerns about corruption in the country where tens of billions of dollars of U.S. aid has been allocated over the past couple of years. He then responded to a commenter who said Musk should stop “pretending” that Russia’s Vladimir Putin is not “the aggressor” in the conflict.
“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,” Musk said in a reply. “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!!”
Sikorski issued a response that mentioned one of Musk’s other companies, SpaceX, that has been used to launch Starlink satellites into space.
“Starlinks for Ukraine are paid for by the Polish Digitization Ministry at the cost of about $50 million per year, Sikorski said.” 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.”
Rubio interjected from his verified government account, taking a cue from Vice President JD Vance telling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House last month that he should be “thanking” President Donald Trump for trying to get Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace deal.
“Just making things up. No one has made any threats about cutting Ukraine off from Starlink,” Rubio said to Sikorski. “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.”
Sikorski later responded: “Thank you, Marco, for confirming that the brave soldiers of Ukraine can count on the vital internet service provided jointly by [the United States] and [Poland]. Together, Europe and the United States can help [Ukraine] to achieve a just peace.”
Musk issued a couple of replies. To Rubio, he said, “What Secretary Rubio says is absolutely correct.” And to Sikorski, he said, “Be quiet, small man. You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink.”
