Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, called on “friends” to respect their allies and avoid arrogance in a post on X on 10 March. This statement came a day after a heated exchange on social media between senior US and Polish officials regarding the Starlink satellite service.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski of “making things up” and implied he was ungrateful. This rebuke followed Sikorski’s comments about the need for Ukraine to have an alternative to Elon Musk‘s Starlink service if it becomes unreliable.
Tusk stressed that true leadership involves respect for partners and allies, especially smaller and weaker ones, and he urged his “friends” to consider this.
The controversy began when Sikorski emphasised on social media that Poland is responsible for funding Starlink services for Ukraine, spending approximately $50 million per year as part of a bilateral trade agreement. He warned that if SpaceX proved unreliable, Poland would need to seek other suppliers, irrespective of the implications of such threats to a country under aggression.
Rubio responded, “Nobody threatened to cut Ukraine off from Starlink. And say thank you—without Starlink, Ukraine would have lost this war a long time ago, and the Russians would now be on the border with Poland.” Soon after, Musk weighed in, telling Sikorski, “Be quiet, little man. You pay a small part of the costs. And there is no substitute for Starlink.”
On Monday morning, Tusk published an English-language post on X, reiterating that “true leadership demands respect for partners and allies, including those who are smaller and weaker”, urging friends to reflect on this notion.
The exchange between Sikorski and US officials prompted reactions from the opposition in Poland, as politicians from the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) criticised the Foreign Minister for “starting Twitter fights” with key allies. Recently, the PiS party openly supported Trump’s positions on international affairs, especially in Ukraine, which sometimes echoed Russian views.
Meanwhile, politicians from Tusk’s coalition expressed support for Sikorski, with Tusk commenting on X that “PiS is losing the last remnants of its national dignity” by attacking the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is trying to defend Poland’s national interests.
