Musk became abusive

Announcement from Poland: Tusk gives the USA a lesson

Donald Tusk criticizes the harsh tone of the USA.

(Bild: AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

The dispute between the USA and Poland over the Starlink satellite service for Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia, has reached a new level: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has now also intervened - and demanded "respect".

"True leadership means respect for partners and allies. Even towards the smaller and weaker ones. Never arrogance," Tusk wrote on Platform X on Monday. Without mentioning anyone directly by name, he added: "Dear friends, think about it."

Tusk thus jumped to the side of his Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who had exchanged blows with US billionaire Elon Musk on X. Sikorski had reacted on the platform to Musk's statement that Ukraine's entire frontline would collapse if he shut down Starlink. The Polish minister wrote that his country transfers around 50 million US dollars a year to Starlink for Ukraine and will have to look for alternatives if Musk's company SpaceX is no longer a reliable provider.

Musk loses his cool
Sikorski triggered angry reactions in the USA. Musk also became abusive: "Shut up, little man. You're only paying a fraction of the cost. There is no substitute for Starlink." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also had his say and harshly attacked his Polish counterpart, who took this as an assurance that Ukraine could continue to use Starlink. Musk later rowed back and assured him that he did not want to shut down the satellite service.

The dispute triggered a variety of reactions in Poland. Opposition politicians from the national conservative PiS accused Sikorski of instigating a dispute on social media with an important ally. In return, representatives of the governing coalition expressed their support for the Polish chief diplomat. Poland is one of the closest military and political allies of Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia.

Ukraine is struggling with dwindling US support after US President Donald Trump called his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" and drew closer to Russia. The USA recently blocked part of Ukraine's access to satellite images and put the exchange of intelligence information on hold.

Trump wants Zelensky to agree to a quick end to the war. However, he demands security guarantees and refers to repeated broken promises by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This led to an unprecedented scandal between Zelensky and Trump in front of the cameras at the White House at the end of February.