Polish president’s veto could stop Ukraine from using Starlink during a disagreement over refugee aid
The Polish president’s veto of a bill for refugee relief could cut off Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink, a Polish deputy prime minister said Monday as tensions between the head of state and the cabinet grow.
Poland funds Ukraine’s usage of Starlink, which gives the nation and its armed forces vital internet access while they fight back Russian invasion forces.
A bill to extend state funding for Ukrainian migrants was vetoed by Polish President Karol Nawrocki on Monday. He also revealed plans to restrict the refugees’ future access to healthcare and child benefits.
But according to Krzystof Gawkowski, the deputy prime minister and minister of digital affairs, the vetoed bill also gave Ukraine the legal justification to get Starlink.
“This is the end of Starlink internet, which Poland provides to Ukraine as it wages war,” he stated on X.
Nawrocki’s veto, according to a spokesman for the ministry of digital affairs, meant that there would be no legal justification for Starlink payments as of October 1. Nawrocki’s spokesperson told Reuters that if the parliament approves the president’s bill by the end of next month, the foundation for funding Starlinks might still be reinstated.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Poland has been one of its most ardent supporters. Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist government and conservative nationalist Nawrocki both believe that Ukraine must be assisted in fending off Russia’s invasion, but some Poles have grown tired of providing assistance to the estimated 1.5 million Ukrainians who currently reside in Poland.
During this year’s election campaign, Nawrocki pledged to put “Poles first” and restrict the rights of foreigners in Poland, a pledge he made after American President Donald Trump.
“I did not change my opinion and I intend to fulfil my obligations and I believe that (family) benefit should only be granted to those Ukrainians who make the effort to work in Poland, the same with healthcare,” he stated to journalists.
A request for response from Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry was not immediately answered.
The family benefit of 800 zlotys ($219 per child) per month is presently available to Ukrainian refugees whose children attend Polish schools. Recently, other EU nations like Germany have also suggested reducing benefits.
In Poland, the president has the power to reject laws and propose new ones. The government has the same power to thwart the president’s plans.
HISTORICAL STRAINS
Nawrocki also suggested on Monday strengthening the criminal code to prevent the advancement of Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist commander who fought in World War Two against both Soviet and Nazi forces, and his rebel army.
“I believe this bill should clearly address Bandera and equate the Bandera symbol in the criminal code with symbols corresponding to German National Socialism, commonly known as Nazism, and Soviet communism,” said Nawrocki.
For their resistance against the Soviet Union and as representations of Kyiv’s grueling fight for independence from Moscow, Bandera and his militia are considered heroes by many Ukrainians.
However, many Poles view him as a representation of anti-Polish aggression. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which Warsaw claims committed mass murders of Polish people between 1943 and 1944, is linked to Bandera. In retaliatory killings, many more Ukrainians also perished.
The Polish penal code imposes a maximum sentence of three years in jail for openly endorsing Nazi, fascist, or communist ideologies.
