Musk and Rubio spar with Polish minister over Ukraine’s use of Starlink

SpaceX’s Starlink internet service has become a lifesaver for many Ukrainians during the war, but officials from Poland, Ukraine’s neighbor, are concerned about the arrival of some 25,000 terminals in the country.

As The Washington Post reports, Polish Science and Higher Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek criticized Ukraine’s use of Starlink terminals, claiming that they “could be used for intelligence purposes” or to distribute Russian propaganda. Czarnek reportedly said during a news conference in Warsaw on Feb. 2 that “Starlink satellites are somehow especially vulnerable to signals interception and jamming.”

Czarnek’s comments came after a meeting with Senator Marco Rubio, who praised Starlink’s contribution to Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russia’s invasion. Rubio reportedly responded to Czarnek’s statement by saying, “Perhaps if you spent less time worrying about how to spy on Ukraine and more time figuring out how to get more assistance to Ukraine, that would be better.”

Czarnek’s comments paint Starlink as a potential national security threat, but some have argued that the service poses risks to Russia as well. Forbes contributor John Scott-Railton pointed out that the Kremlin has struggled to block Starlink connections in Russian-occupied territories, and in the past, Russian forces have even relied on Starlink to maintain communications in battle. Starlink’s sheer number of satellites (nearly 3,000 as of January 2023) and encryption make it a secure communication tool, one that Russia is apparently unable to easily disrupt.