The US does not directly fund aid to Ukraine, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated on 23 October.
He was responding to comments by the American billionaire and founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk, who accused Ukraine of laundering American taxpayers’ money.
“No, Elon Musk, the US stopped funding Ukraine last year. In fact, American companies are making money from US weapons, which we Europeans are paying for,” Sikorski wrote on social media platform X.
The diplomat added that the more Musk “plays politics” using his own products, the more he damages his brand.
The day before, Musk had spoken of a “huge difference in incentives” between the Ukrainian elite and ordinary citizens. According to him, the elites are enriching themselves at the expense of the funds received by Kyiv, “whilst other people’s children are being sent off to war to die in the trenches”.
“Furthermore, some of American taxpayers’ money is funneled back – via numerous money-laundering schemes – to fund political campaigns in America. That is precisely why some politicians care more about Ukraine than about their own country,” added the businessman.
This is not the first exchange of comments on this subject between the Polish diplomat and the American entrepreneur. In March 2025, Sikorski reminded Musk that the Polish government was paying for Starlink services for Ukraine, and warned: “If SpaceX proves to be an unreliable supplier, we will have to look for others.”
According to the latest estimate by Bloomberg, since July, Musk – known for his support of the Republican Party – has donated around $455 million to political committees in the run-up to the mid-term elections.
The day before, The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that US President Donald Trump had spoken on the phone with SpaceX founder Elon Musk and urged him to lift the speed restrictions on Starshield.
According to the publication’s sources, shortly after the conversation between Trump and Musk on Thursday, the satellite connection began to operate more reliably. Journalists noted that the system had not yet regained full functionality, but was already operating faster than under the previously imposed restriction.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated on social media platform X that the speed and usage restrictions on Starshield are set by the US military, whilst the final decision rests with the US President.
Disruptions to Starshield — the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink service, on which Ukraine relies heavily for protection against Russian air strikes — have left the country particularly vulnerable. The disruptions first came to light on 13–14 October.