“If I turn off the Starlink system, the entire front in Ukraine will collapse,” wrote Elon Musk, the American head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), on his platform X early Sunday morning. However, this statement was apparently misunderstood by Poland’s Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski. The Civic Platform politician claimed that Poland was paying for Starlink services for Ukraine and accused Musk of “threatening the victim of aggression.” He added that “if SpaceX proves to be an unreliable provider, we will be forced to look for other suppliers.”
Following this awkward statement, Sikorski received responses from both Elon Musk and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Sikorski’s remarks quickly sparked controversy. Opposition politicians are convinced that the foreign minister has once again taken a step toward damaging Polish-American relations.
“I see that Radosław Sikorski’s Twitter diplomacy is achieving yet another success. Prime Minister Tusk speaks in the Sejm about the importance of the Polish-American alliance, while his foreign minister cannot keep his phone in his pocket and feels the need to stir things up on social media,”
wrote PiS MP Radosław Fogiel.
Widzę, że twitterowa dyplomacja Radosława Sikorskiego odnosi kolejne sukcesy. Premier Tusk mówi w Sejmie o wadze sojuszu polsko-amerykańskiego, a jego szef dyplomacji nie jest w stanie utrzymać telefonu w kieszeni i musi jątrzyć w mediach społecznościowych.
— Radosław Fogiel (@radekfogiel) March 9, 2025
Even stronger criticism came from MEP Dominik Tarczyński, who openly called for the foreign minister’s resignation.
“Sikorski is very harmful to Poland. His lies and entitled attitude could lead to a serious crisis in Polish-American relations. Resign! Immediately!”
he declared.
Sikorski bardzo szkodzi Polsce.
— Dominik Tarczyński MEP (@D_Tarczynski) March 9, 2025
Jego kłamstwa oraz postawa roszczeniowa może doprowadzić do poważnego kryzysu w relacjach Polska – USA.
Do dymisji! Natychmiast!
Representatives of the previous government unanimously agree that diplomacy should not be conducted in this manner—especially when it comes to relations with Poland’s most powerful ally.
Moreover, criticism of Sikorski is not limited to his political opponents. Online, there is no shortage of outrage, embarrassment, and disappointment regarding the foreign minister’s conduct.
“After all, after “thank you, USA” he should never have used X, given interviews and written… Since this pest of politics became the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, everything he wrote and writes is a burden on our Homeland,”
Cenckiewicz wrote.
Ostatecznie po „thank you, USA” nigdy nie powinien używać X, udzielać wywiadów i pisać… Z chwilą kiedy ten szkodnik polityki stał się szefem MSZ wszystko co pisał i pisze obarcza naszą Ojczyznę https://t.co/mkmPb6M8hQ
— Sławomir Cenckiewicz (@Cenckiewicz) March 9, 2025
“On top of all this, it turned out that Sikorski was unable to understand simple English and was barking nonsensically like a drunk Prague Ratter. Genuine shame. We had different foreign ministers. There were SB agents and communist thugs and others, but there was never such a level of incompetence, nonchalance and intellectual laziness,”
Zygfryd Czaban wrote.
Do tego wszystkiego okazało się, że Sikorski nie potrafi zrozumieć prostego tłita po angielsku i ujada bez sensu jak pijany ratlerek.
— Zygfryd Czaban (@CDzwoni) March 9, 2025
Autentyczny wstyd.
Mieliśmy różnych ministrów spraw zagranicznych. Byli tam i agenci SB i komunistyczne złogi i jeszcze inni, ale takiego… https://t.co/41bipa0PoH
This Reputation Spreads Worldwide
Unfortunately for Poland’s image, the exchange between Sikorski and the U.S. administration is being reported not only by Poles. The controversy is being amplified by major profiles on platform X, such as “Libs of TikTok,” which has 4.3 million followers. Elon Musk himself reacted to a post from this profile.
“Elon Musk gave Ukraine starlink FOR FREE at the start of the war yet these people STILL complain and try to claim he’s Putin‘s puppet and threaten to go to other companies,”
stated the LoT account.
Elon Musk gave Ukraine starlink FOR FREE at the start of the war yet these people STILL complain and try to claim he’s Putin‘s puppet and threaten to go to other companies pic.twitter.com/8t55kY8FHM
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 9, 2025
In response to a comment claiming that “Zelensky is ungrateful and wants war,” Musk wrote:
“As do the elite in Ukraine and some of the elite in the West, all of whom have fancy dinners in mansions every night, while sending the sons of others to die in trenches of mud and blood in the forever war”
As do the elite in Ukraine and some of the elite in the West, all of whom have fancy dinners in mansions every night, while sending the sons of others to die in trenches of mud and blood in the forever war
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 9, 2025