Polish president's veto doesn't end Ukraine's Starlink access, Nawrocki's office claims
Polish President Karol Nawrocki's veto of a bill extending support for Ukrainian refugees will not cut off Ukraine's access to the Starlink communications network, Nawrocki's head of office, Zbigniew Bogucki, said on Aug. 25.
Bogucki refuted Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski's accusations that the veto would effectively end Polish support for the Starlink Internet for Ukraine as of Oct. 1 and the storage of Ukrainian administration data.
"President (Karol Nawrocki's) veto does not disconnect Ukraine from the Starlink Internet, as the costs of this connectivity are funded based on the currently applicable law," the official said on X.
Bogucki clarified that the bill submitted by Nawrocki to the parliament preserves the current arrangement, and lawmakers only need to approve it next month.
Legislation proposed by the president also included granting benefits only to Ukrainians who are employed in Poland, extending the period needed to obtain Polish citizenship, harsher penalties for illegal border crossings, and equating the "Bandera symbols" with Nazi and Communist symbols in Poland's criminal code.
Ukraine relies heavily on Starlink, the satellite internet system developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to maintain connectivity in front-line areas and support government communications.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has received over 50,000 Starlink terminals, with Poland providing nearly 30,000 — the largest contribution by any single country, Ukraine's Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.
"You had almost a year and a half to present a law that would be fair, primarily from the Polish perspective, but also for those Ukrainians who honestly participate in the Polish socio-economic system," Bogucki said in a statement addressed to the Polish government.
"You did not do this, as with many other things, despite making promises. That is why the Polish president is now stepping in to address this."
Nawrocki, a conservative backed by the opposition Law and Justice party, narrowly won Poland's presidential election on June 1 with 50.89% of the vote, defeating Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's ruling coalition.
A historian-turned-politician, Nawrocki's ascent to the presidential office signals growing challenges for Polish-Ukrainian relations. While the new head of state affirmed support for Ukraine's struggle against Russian aggression, he also spoke out against Kyiv's EU and NATO aspirations, often drawing attention to past historical grievances.
The conservative's victory also maintains the ideological divide between the Polish Presidential Office and Tusk's centrist government.
