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Polish president's veto on aid to Ukrainian refugees also nixes Starlink funding for Kiev

According to Poland’s Ministry of Digital Affairs, between 2022 and the end of 2024, Polish authorities spent $83.5 million on 24,500 Starlink satellite terminals for Ukraine, including purchase and subscription fees

MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. The Polish government will have to stop financing Starlink satellite internet for Ukraine due to President Karol Nawrocki’s veto on the law extending assistance and special status for Ukrainian refugees, Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said.

"With his decision, Karol Nawrocki is shutting down the Ukrainian internet, as this is what his decision on the law on aid to Ukrainian citizens effectively means. This is the end of Starlink internet, which Poland has been providing amid Ukraine's war effort. It is also the end of support for the secure storage of the Ukrainian administration's electronic data," Gawkowski wrote on X.

On August 25, Nawrocki vetoed a bill that would have extended special status and benefits to Ukrainians who fled to Poland after February 2022. He explained that unemployed Ukrainians should no longer have access to free medical care or child benefits (the "Family 800+" program).

According to Poland’s Ministry of Digital Affairs, between 2022 and the end of 2024, Polish authorities spent $83.5 million on 24,500 Starlink satellite terminals for Ukraine, including purchase and subscription fees. In 2025, Warsaw planned to allocate an additional $20 million for these purposes. The ministry noted that the agreement between Warsaw and Kiev on Starlink expires on September 30 and added that no alternative to Starlink terminals has yet been found.

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