DOMINANT ANGLE
Warsaw draws a lesson in sovereignty from the Starlink episode: Ukraine's dependence on a private American operator justifies, according to the Polish press, a trustworthy European satellite network.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to the WSJ as reported by Rzeczpospolita and RMF24, Trump called Musk to lift the limits on Starshield, which is restricted beyond 160 km/h.
- 02
On October 22, ICEYE and Nokia signed a letter of intent with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense for a sovereign satellite system.
- 03
Radosław Sikorski mocked the "audacious strategy" of Musk, who attacks the EU while demanding frequencies.
ANALYSIS
Warsaw, October 23, 2026. The Polish press is treating the Starlink episode less as an American quarrel than as proof of a dangerous dependence. Rzeczpospolita reports that, according to the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump called Elon Musk to ask him to lift the limits imposed on Starshield, the military version of the network used by the Ukrainian army. According to American officials cited by the newspaper, these restrictions had been decided on the order of the boss of SpaceX.
RMF24 specifies the nature of the restriction: the service stopped working beyond 160 km/h (approximately 100 miles per hour), which reduced the effectiveness of some of the Ukrainian offensive and interceptor drones in the face of Russian attacks. Expert Michael Kofman, from the Carnegie Endowment, estimates that lifting these restrictions could significantly increase the Ukrainian strike capabilities in depth. The White House and SpaceX are giving opposing versions: the former claims that Trump did not ask to slow down the service and was unaware of who made the decision.
Questioned before leaving for a meeting in Iowa, Trump refused to say whether he had called Musk: "It doesn't matter, the important thing is that he restored it," he said, judging their relations to be excellent. Polish articles emphasize that Ukrainian officials consider the functionality not to be fully restored, even if the throughput exceeds that of the limitation period.
Polish diplomacy is getting involved: Radosław Sikorski relayed a message from journalist Michael Weiss on X and ironized: "Let's appreciate Elon Musk's courage," judging the strategy of a billionaire who attacks the European Union while hoping for regulatory favors and frequencies to be "audacious."
The main emphasis, however, is on the European alternative. On October 22, the Finnish company ICEYE and Nokia signed a letter of intent with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to build a sovereign satellite communication system. Rzeczpospolita insists: the states that deploy it will not be simple clients but owners of the satellites, the ground segment, and the terminals, with full control. The newspaper recalls that the Russian strikes the previous weekend would have been facilitated by the disruptions to Starlink, the origin of which is not entirely elucidated.
SOURCES (2)
- RMF24MEDIUM
