Poland Has Spent Over $85 Million on Starlink for Ukraine Since 2022

Between 2022 and 2024, Poland spent nearly PLN 323 million (approximately $87 million at the current exchange rate) on Starlink for Ukraine.

Polska Zbrojna reported on this.

The amount includes the purchase of satellite internet terminals and subscription costs.

No further purchases are planned for this year, and the estimated cost of the subscription exceeds PLN 77 million (over $20 million at the current exchange rate), according to data published by the Ministry of Digitalization of Poland.

The funds for this purpose come from the Ukraine Aid Fund, established by the Polish government after February 24, 2022.

The media reports that, thanks to these funds, Ukraine has received 24,500 satellite terminals to date. Other Polish entities provided another 5,100 devices. The Polish government pays the subscription fee for all devices:

“The cost of a single Starlink subscription is PLN 528.90 per month, and the cost of a special subscription is PLN 1,383.75.”

In early April, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov reported that the Polish government had transferred another 5,000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine, which provide communication for both military and civilian use.

“Starlinks will help residents of frontline areas stay connected: call relatives, request emergency services, and read news. Due to shelling and the destruction of base stations in the liberated territories, regular communication is unavailable,” the Minister explained.

He added that, thanks to the cooperation between the Ministry of Digital Transformation and international partners and donors, Ukraine has already received over 50,000 Starlink terminals. Of these, the largest share — 29,500 — came from Poland, Fedorov noted.

As of today, Ukraine is one of the largest users of Starlink, which provides access to high-speed internet. It is also reported that the terminals of this system are used for military purposes, particularly for data exchange.

Due to the ambiguous behavior of the Trump administration and the owner of SpaceX, the company behind Starlink, Ukraine is looking for alternatives to this system. Potential suppliers include Luxembourg’s SES, Spain’s Hisdesat, Britain’s Viasat, and the French-British Eutelsat/OneWeb.