Poland Denies Starlink Shutdown Threat After Veto on Ukraine Aid Bill
The office of Polish President Karol Navrotsky has dismissed claims that his recent veto of an aid bill for Ukrainian refugees would cut off Starlink satellite internet services in Ukraine.
The Gaze reports this, referring to a post by Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the president’s office.
Bogucki stated 25 that Starlink connections in Ukraine remain secure because their funding is guaranteed under existing legislation.
He urged Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization Krzysztof Gawkowski to “avoid manipulations” after the minister suggested the veto would sever Polish support for satellite connectivity.
“The veto does not switch off Starlink in Ukraine, since expenses are covered by provisions of the current law. The president’s new bill preserves this status quo,” Bogucki wrote on X, adding that the same applies to the storage of Ukrainian government data in secure locations abroad.
Navrotsky vetoed legislation extending child benefits to all Ukrainian refugees until March 2026, arguing that only working parents should qualify.
The amendment was pushed through parliament by the coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, but the government lacks the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto.
Gawkowski sharply criticized the move, saying it jeopardizes Ukraine’s wartime connectivity. “Karol Navrotsky’s decision effectively cuts off Starlink in Ukraine. This is the end of the Internet Poland provides to a country at war, and also the end of secure data storage support for Ukraine’s government,” he said.
Gawkowski also warned that such a step would hand Moscow a strategic advantage. “I cannot imagine a better gift for Putin’s forces than disconnecting Ukraine from the internet,” Gawkowski stated.
Since February 2022, more than 50,000 Starlink terminals have been delivered to Ukraine by international donors, nearly 30,000 of them funded by Poland. Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov confirmed in April that Warsaw has also been covering service costs.
Starlink remains a lifeline for Ukraine’s military and civilian infrastructure, providing vital connectivity to war-damaged regions and frontline units.