Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00It's the latest in the war of words involving the Trump administration and European officials
00:05over Ukraine.
00:07On Sunday, Elon Musk responded to a comment on X and said his Starlink system was the
00:11backbone of the Ukrainian army, adding the entire front line would collapse if he turned
00:16it off.
00:17It prompted Poland's foreign minister to weigh in.
00:20Radoslaw Sierkowski told a tech billionaire Starlinks for Ukraine are paid for by the
00:24Polish digitization ministry at the cost of $50 million a year.
00:29He added Warsaw would be forced to look for other suppliers if SpaceX proved an unreliable
00:33partner.
00:35Musk responded to the message on X writing, be quiet small man, you pay a tiny fraction
00:40of the cost.
00:41The US Secretary of State also chimed in.
00:44Marco Rubio accused his Polish counterpart of making things up and denied that anyone
00:49made threats about cutting Ukraine off from Starlink.
00:52He demanded gratitude and reminded Poland that without Starlink, Kiev would have lost
00:56the war and Russian forces would be at Poland's border.
01:00The Polish prime minister is now cautioning against arrogance.
01:04In a message on X, Donald Tusk called for respect among partners and allies.
01:09The American public is beginning to realize that the activities of companies such as Starlink
01:14in Ukraine is not only charitable but also helps Ukraine, if only by the fact that it
01:20pays for Starlink's subscription.
01:24Last year, Ukraine said it had around 42,000 Starlink terminals.
01:29During the war, they've been the most reliable means of communication and have enabled troops
01:33to observe what's happening on the front lines.
01:36In February, Ukraine said it was exploring alternatives to Starlink.
01:41That was before the Oval Office debacle between Vladimir Zelensky and Donald Trump, a showdown
01:46which resulted in the US suspending military aid to Kiev.
01:52The Canadian province