WARSAW

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski accused US billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service of “making money on war crimes,” writing on social media Tuesday that the system is being used by Russian forces to support drone strikes against Ukraine.

Starlink, operated by Musk’s SpaceX, has become part of Russia’s battlefield infrastructure, despite Western sanctions and repeated assurances that the service would not be made available to Moscow, Sikorski said on the US social media company X’s platform.

“Starlink is making money on war crimes,” he wrote, arguing that satellite connectivity enabling Russian drone operations directly contributes to attacks on Ukrainian civilian and military targets.

The accusation reignites a long-running public spat between the Polish foreign minister and the US tech billionaire over the role of private technology companies in modern warfare and accountability for how their products are used.

Musk has previously dismissed criticism from Sikorski and other European officials. In a widely shared exchange last year, he referred to Sikorski as “a little man” after the minister questioned the political influence and strategic responsibility of Starlink in the Ukraine war.

Starlink has played a crucial role in Ukraine’s defense since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, providing internet connectivity to Ukrainian forces after Russian strikes disabled much of the country’s telecommunications infrastructure. Kyiv has credited the system with helping maintain command, control and battlefield coordination.

However, reports since 2023 have suggested that Russian forces may have gained access to Starlink.