A veto by Poland’s right-wing President Karol Nawrocki threatens Ukraine’s access to the strategically vital Starlink satellite internet service, says Krzysztof Gawkowski, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister.
Poland underwrites Ukraine’s use of the Elon Musk Starlink internet link that is crucial to Kyiv’s fight to repel Russia’s invading forces.
On Monday, President Nawrocki vetoed a bill to extend state financial support for Ukrainian refugees. He also said he intended to curtail refugees’ future access to state-provided child benefits and healthcare.
Posting on X, Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Gawkowski declared: “This is the end of Starlink internet, which Poland provides to Ukraine as it wages war.” He pointed out that the legislation vetoed by Nawrocki provided the legal underpinning for the Starlink payments.
A Digital Affairs Ministry statement noted that, thanks to the veto, Warsaw will be unable to authorise further payments for the Starlink service from 1 October onwards. However, a spokesperson did indicate that the service could be sustained if the Polish parliament adopts a bill proposed by the president before 1 October.
Just as the president can propose bills and veto government legislation, the government can also block presidential proposals.
While Prime Minister Donald Tusk‘s centrist government and conservative nationalist Nawrocki agree on the need to help Ukraine stand up to the Russians, some Poles are tired of helping support the estimated 1.5 million Ukrainians now living in Poland.
During his campaign for the presidency, Nawrocki said he would put “Poles first” and limit the rights of foreigners in Poland. “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 told journalists.
